People's Insights Quarterly Magazine Issue 3 by MSL Global

Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

People’s Lab: Crowdsourcing Innovation & Insights People’s Lab is MSLGROUP’s proprietary crowdsourcing platform and approach that helps organizations tap into people’s insights for innovation, storytelling and change. The People’s Lab crowdsourcing platform helps organizations build and nurture public or private, web or mobile, hosted or white label communities around four pre-configured application areas: Expertise Request Network, Innovation Challenge Network, Research & Insights Network and Contest & Activation Network. Our community and gaming features encourage people to share rich content, vote/

comment on other people’s content and collaborate to find innovative solutions. The People’s Lab crowdsourcing platform and approach forms the core of our distinctive insights and foresight approach, which consists of four elements: organic conversation analysis, MSLGROUP’s own insight communities, client-specific insights communities, and ethnographic deep dives into these communities. The People’s Insights Quarterly Magazines showcase our capability in crowdsourcing and analyzing insights from conversations and communities.

Learn more about us at: www.mslgroup.com | http://blog.mslgroup.com twitter.com/msl_group | youtube.com/mslgroupofficial Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

Inside Foreword by Pascal Beucler

Editorial by Gaurav Mishra and Nidhi Makhija

Creative Storytelling by Dominic Payling

Moms, Food & Social Media by Steve Bryant

Communicating the Future of Health by Pascal Beucler

04 05

07 11

CNN I’m Voting

McDonald’s Mein Burger

@MarsCuriosity

Chase Community Giving

Foodspotting

Free Pussy Riot

Kickstarter

Nike Find Your Greatness

LoudSauce

SuperBetter

Anthon Berg Generous Store

Hilltop Re-imagined for Coca Cola

Alpenliebe Kindness Movement

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Pascal Beucler, SVP & Chief Strategy Officer, MSLGROUP

Foreword I am delighted to introduce the third issue of the Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Insights Quarterly Magazine, which pulls together the best insights on citizenship, crowdsourcing and storytelling from our global network of planners and experts. In the past three months, we have seen inspiring projects where brands and social platforms have sparked passions and catalyzed change movements, using drivers of citizenship, crowdsourcing and storytelling. I hope you enjoy reading the insights we have distilled from conversations around these inspiring projects.

After nine months of tracking conversations around inspiring citizenship, crowdsourcing and storytelling projects, we are beginning to see some broad trends which, we believe, will shape communication and engagement in 2013. I am happy to share that we are working on a Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Insights Annual Report in which we will synthesize our insights from throughout 2012 to provide foresights for business leaders and changemakers for 2013.

Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

Editorial

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Nidhi Makhija, Manager - Insights, MSLGROUP

Gaurav Mishra, VP of Insights, Innovation & Social, Asia, MSLGROUP

ourselves sitting on a mine of trends common across projects and global communities.

People’s Insights Annual Report The People’s Insights Quarterly Magazine pulls together the best insights from our Insights Network, in which 100+ thinkers and planners within MSLGROUP share and discuss inspiring projects on citizenship, crowdsourcing and storytelling. The Insights Network is a private network created on our proprietary People’s Lab crowdsourcing platform.

We believe these trends and insights can be further distilled and analyzed to identify key foresights that will drive conversations in 2013. We will summarize these insights, and discuss the implications of these foresights for marketers in the People’s Insights Annual Report, which we will share in early January 2013.

Every week, we pick one project and do a deep dive into conversations around it — on the MSLGROUP Insights Network itself but also on the broader social web — to distill insights and foresights.

We hope these foresights, mined directly from the people, will inspire and guide you to create your own citizenship, crowdsourcing and storytelling projects and tap into the power of conversations and communities.

We started with the belief that some of the most inspiring projects that are shaping marketing and communications are at the intersection of citizenship, crowdsourcing and storytelling. Nine months and thirty-nine weekly insights reports later, we feel our intuition is validated, and find

People’s Insights Quarterly Magazine, Volume 1, Issue 3 In the lead articles for our first two issues of the People’s Insights Quarterly Magazine, we looked at the power of stories, and how brands can create 5

purpose-driven stories to build and deepen their relationship with people. In the Apr-Jun 2012 issue, we also showcased research from MSL Italy on the conversations around food and food brands. In the lead article for the Jul-Sep issue, we share a storytelling framework created by MSL London and showcase two proprietary research studies – one from MSL Seattle on how social media is changing how moms plan, shop, prepare and consume food; and a second from MSLGROUP EMEA’s Healthcare Practice on the profound transformation Europe's healthcare industry is experiencing - and the response that companies in the healthcare sector must formulate to survive and thrive. We also look at thirteen inspiring projects at the intersection of citizenship, crowdsourcing and storytelling. Many of these projects build upon at least two of the three drivers, using powerful stories to inspire crowds to take action and drive change.

Citizenship: • How CNN and Facebook are encouraging discussions around the upcoming U.S. elections on social media with their I’m Voting Facebook app, and gathering insights from social conversations. • How Chase has built a community of change agents, by empowering people to make a difference in their local and national communities.

Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

Crowdsourcing: • How the McDonald's Mein Burger campaign became a successful formula to crowdsource product innovation and tap into niche online communities across Europe. • How apps like Foodspotting are crowdsourcing photos and reviews of dishes, and changing the way people engage with, share, and discover food. • How platforms like Kickstarter and LoudSauce are empowering people to fund projects that they are passionate about, and empowering thinkers, inventors, artists and activists to achieve their visions. • How brands like Anthon Berg, Coca Cola and Alpenliebe are crowdsourcing and spreading generosity, happiness and kindness in Denmark, the Americas, South Africa, and China.

Storytelling: • How NASA, Nike and Free Pussy Riot, a group of global activists, used transmedia storytelling to inspire people to dream, achieve personal goals and unite to drive change. • How SuperBetter is merging storytelling and gaming techniques to motivate people to meet their health and lifestyle goals in a fun manner. In the coming weeks, we will continue to track inspiring projects at the intersection of citizenship, crowdsourcing and storytelling. Do subscribe to receive our weekly insights reports, quarterly magazines, and upcoming annual report, and do share your tips and comments with us at @PeoplesLab on Twitter.

Creative Storytelling

Dominic Payling, Planning Director, MSL London

Our ‘story’ begins in 2008. Annette Simmons’ seminal work ‘The Story Factor’ had begun to tip into marketing consciousness and we realised that the ‘Always-On’ conversation wasn’t just another marketing expression du jour. Coke Europe was struggling to get audiences to love the mother brand. Red coke sales were growing in some markets but regulatory and social headwinds were growing faster in others. Coke’s communications response was well organised but not getting any real attention. It became very clear they weren’t telling their story well. So we helped them to reframe their communications around storytelling – humanising ‘data’, personalising ‘facts’ and making ‘figures’ entertaining.

Cycle forwards four years, via the MSLGroup DNA trusted Advisors and ‘creative storytellers’ – our increasingly sophisticated approach to corporate and brand storytelling has led us in new and exciting directions. MSL London can now boast a soup to nuts storytelling solution - an overarching philosophy that captures our latest thinking and approach to Storytelling and presents it in five chapters. It begins with PurPle, ends with content and urges you to act like a publisher.

Chapter One - Importance of Stories Let’s start with why stories matter. Have a look at this short film we made that tells you everything you need to know:

From this experience we learned three important lessons... 1. Many brands can’t see their own story and certainly don’t know how to tell it 2. Only brands that have a purpose can tell the right story.

Source: youtube.com

3. Campaigns that tell stories have a voracious appetite for content

So stories are important, but which one should you tell?

Just think about that short list for a second. And think about the opportunity.

The past four years have taught us that your story can only exist as an articulation of purpose. Without a purpose you can tell any story. ‘Any story’, unless you luck out with the right one, will 7

always descend into commoditisation and an ever decreasing bottom line for your client.

Chapter Two - Discovering Your Story

Your client’s journey towards a story that gets attention begins with their organisation. Whilst many organisations promise their stakeholders many things, in the noisy, competitive marketplace where choice can solve problems or make them worse and loyalty is low, the one thing that separates one brand from another is having a defining purpose. The organisation which can clearly communicate ‘why we are here’ will be the one having the most effective conversations with stakeholders. Achieving this goal is not about simply communicating a client’s product or service message. It’s about immersing ourselves in their business and placing ourselves in the mindset of the stakeholder. In essence it’s about finding and communicating how best to connect their organisation to their stakeholders intrinsic emotional needs and then explaining it in the most powerful way possible – through a story. That could be as much about framing the nuances and consequences of political decision making or helping to differentiate one detergent from another. The first and most important step in this process is to truly understand what makes your client’s business tick. Why do they exist? The answer isn’t money. Money is a by-product of having a purpose. The more relevant your purpose, the more widely communicated it will be, the more money your client will make. Look at Richard Branson and Virgin – I’ve been lucky enough to work for him 4 times in the mobile, wine and finance categories. His purpose has always been to champion the consumer. Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

They’ve told that tale in the music business, wine, transport, finance, fitness, media and even space travel. They have told it, re-told it, re-invented it, refreshed it, nuanced it in a million ways. So well have they told that story and so consistently have they told it that Branson is awash in the byproduct of Purpose (check out Necker Island). By understanding the very nature of our client’s organisation, the reason it exists and the true emotional value it delivers to its stakeholders we can help our clients to shape their purpose. MSLGROUP’s global offering PurPle (Purpose + People) specializes in helping companies discover and leverage purpose and people to drive shared value. So how do we at MSL London get to the purpose and the story? 1. We put into practice our five killer questions. They focus on helping us define both the functional and emotional needs of client stakeholders, the extent to which they would be willing to engage and the validity and relevance of the organisational purpose against their needs. We spend time understanding the competitive landscape. If potential stakeholders are engaging with competitors or favouring them over our client, it’s important we understand why so that we can act to change perceptions. 2. From this information we run a moderated storytelling workshop with the client from which the essence of a story emerges. This we creatively craft into a story and narrative by audience. But this is the only the beginning. Who is best suited to tell the story, what should they say to get attention and overcome barriers to engagement, where and how should they do this? And what is the role for the organisation/brand? At this stage, we would out reach out to trained qualitative and quantitative researchers in the client’s region to understand the type of stakeholder research to use. Our teams are well versed in netnography, qualitative and quantitative research methodologies using the latest online techniques of ideation and cocreation among the very people our clients wish to influence. Once the story has been established, how do we share it, nurture it and refresh it?

Chapter Three - Dynamic Storytelling: Think like a publisher, plan and improvise

Chapter Four - Creative Storytelling: 7 rules for contagious content

We plan a story’s journey with the Story Engagement Blueprint (SEB) - a conversation calendar and content plan that translates the story into content that can explode across conversation themes, platforms and channels.

These rules act as a guide to content production that will help ensure that it will be told and retold, over time and across platforms and channels.

We manage this journey through an Editorial Council. Our philosophy embraces a 90 day planning cycle that allows us to review what has worked, what hasn’t worked and plan for the next 90 days as well as being geared up to respond immediately at ‘micro-notice’.

Purpose inspired content is key to engaging with your target in a way that brings to life your brand and organisation. It is the shift from communicating what you ‘sell’ to communicating ‘what you stand for’.

There must always be a rapid response element of the editorial council prepped and ready to act in the case of any significant reputational opportunity or challenge. Creating content that fits these needs requires a skill to spot potential trends as they emerge and to act upon them in a way that turns your story into something stakeholders can recognise and associate with. It requires an editorial team to support on-going listening, to spot key repetitive behaviours from audience insight and to turn these into shareable and viral stories. But most importantly, developing sustainable content requires the skill of cross –platform creativity. A story often lives across multiple platforms and can be told through a combination of media, imagery, video posts and text. Our final task in this journey will be to ensure we further explode your stories into digestible, easy to share content.

Rule 1: The story must be Purposeful

Rule 2: The story must be Insightful Asking your stakeholders to engage with content in a certain way is only going to be successful if you are asking them to do something that is already familiar to them. The listening exercise conducted as part of the story engagement blueprint should deliver you sufficient data to drive this insight.

Rule 3: The story must be Engaging This rule is easy to explain but often difficult to follow. It is about creating content that is easy for users to engage with – be that a comment, a follow, a share or a like. It also relates to campaigns where you ask your audience to participate and co-create content with the brand.

Rule 4: The story must be Entertaining, rewarding or informative Does your content entertain, reward or inform? Test it. If it doesn’t, scrap it and start again.

niche tastes find other individuals with common interest and to help them form communities and groups. Build on this. Find out what unites your stakeholders and build the content around this.

Rule 7: The story should Play on emotions If you can create content that plays on your audience’s emotions, you will secure a deeper and more meaningful response from them.

Rule 5: The story should Build on existing themes and trends In essence it’s about building your content around ‘memes’. A meme is "an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture." A meme acts as a unifier for carrying ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one person to another.

Chapter Five – Review Like any great story expect to be reviewed. In fact think of it like an Amazon review that feeds back into the success of a story.

Rule 6: The story should Unify

We have developed a set of metrics that we use to review and adapt our stories with. If you’d like to know more about them and how we use them get in touch.

One of the reasons for social media’s widespread success is the fact that it has provided an easy mechanic for helping disparate individuals with

If you would like to know more about our storytelling process, contact Dominic Payling at dominic.payling@mslgroup.com

View MSLGROUP Creative Storytelling on Slideshare Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

Moms, Food & Social Media: A Winning Recipe for Marketers

Steve Bryant Director, Food & Beverage,MSLGROUP North America

Social media lives in the moment, so it’s no surprise that food and drink should figure so prominently in the medium. We eat or snack some three to 10 times a day and, as we do, we often share that experience – we even share while we eat.

For Moms, Dinner Help is Only a Click Away

It’s a phenomenon that inspired a joint study, by The Hartman Group and MSLGROUP Americas, to explore how food culture in the United States has evolved under the influence of social and digital media. More recently, MSLGROUP disclosed a proprietary segment of the study focused on 400 moms with children under 13, the leading market driver in the U.S. food and beverage industry. Study results confirm the remarkable influence of moms, not simply at the cash register, but also as chief movers in food culture. In fact, we conclude that social media has magnified their influence and helped reshape how new food habits are adopted. It’s information that will prove extremely valuable to food and beverage marketers. Women with children under 13 are spending 15.2 hours/month on social networking sites alone, compared to men at 8.4 hours. All told, 44% of such moms are reading or browsing posts contributed by others on social network sites or tools such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or MySpace.

The study showed that moms are much more

likely than non-moms to use social media while preparing meals (40% vs. 30%). In fact, almost 60% of moms (vs. 48% of nonmoms) search online for a recipe or food preparation tips. Almost half (47%) of moms also texted a friend or family member for cooking ideas. Their interests should serve as a content guide for food marketers online: • Quick and easy meals (77%) • Low-cost meals (55%) • Holiday dishes (55%) • Health and nutritious meals (46%) Not surprisingly, millennial moms have been most progressive in adopting social media for meal planning and other food-related information. Our study shows that these younger moms are the most interested in leveraging 11

online networks and resources when it comes to food — meal planning, new restaurants to try, and learning about new foods or nutrition.

Building a Relationship with Moms For marketers trying to calibrate their digitaltraditional marketing mix, it’s useful to know that most traditional channels remain valuable. Moms are diversifying their sources, now favoring online channels, but abandoning few. That said, print usage is facing significant declines with millennial moms. We’re well past the digital tipping point, with moms spending more time engaged online looking at resources to learn about food (48%) than they do looking at offline sources like cookbooks and magazines (16%). In addition to recipes, moms browse restaurant reviews (15%) and food blogs (16%) online.

contribute reviews. In fact, moms are more likely to contribute a product review to sites like Amazon and Yelp than women with no children (moms 23% vs. total females 18%). With 29 million moms visiting social network sites monthly, their ratings and reviews can really boost or bust a product's reputation. A watchword to food makers: Mom is most likely to share a review when she is very impressed or very disappointed. Middling experiences receive little attention, so find ways to wow them. Moms may be less likely to share photos of meals and restaurant descriptions – perhaps because they don’t get out as much – but they are more likely than women without children to describe a home-prepared meal or snack to their friends, or request advice about what food to prepare and how to prepare it.

Almost two-thirds of moms who took the survey visited Allrecipes.com for meal inspiration. Foodnetwork.com (52% of moms) and Recipes. com (45% of moms) followed behind.

Photo from GoodnCrazy on Flickr

But what role do brands have in this online conversation? Moms say they want two things above all from brands: deals and recipes. In our view, deals are practically mandatory, but recipes are the best way for brands to build a long-term relationship with moms. In fact, we see recipes as the original viral content. Good recipes get enjoyed, passed around, and served to family and friends. They can potentially live for years in a mom’s mealtime repertoire, and every consumption occasion could translate to sales. One really important thing to know about moms: They frequently consult online reviews and, especially as they gain experience, they Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

Smart phones are now used by a majority (52%) of moms with young children, and they are putting them to use while shopping. In the last year, they compared prices, downloaded coupons, made purchases, and shared shopping experiences on their social networks – all at higher rates than other women. Those numbers – now in the low double digits – will only climb as smart phones permeate the market. These are dramatic changes for moms, who might once have relied on their own moms for the largest share of their food tastes and knowhow. Now, moms have turned to crowdsourcing their food ideas – and savvy brands will follow them with the best available information on what they need and want online. -Steve Bryant leads the Food & Beverage business for MSLGROUP Americas. For a copy of the study results, contact him at steve.bryant@ mslgroup.com or 1-206-313-1588.

Highlights: Social and Digital Media Changing Food Culture In a broader study, The Hartman Group and MSLGROUP Americas interviewed 1,641 online adults to understand how Social and Digital Media are Changing Food Culture. Here are some highlights from the study: Transforming Food Culture Social and digital media are transforming food culture in four areas: Traditions (meal planning), Transactions (shopping), Techniques (preparing) and Table (eating).

Almost half of consumers learn about food via social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook. 40% learn about food via websites, apps or blogs. Influence and “Real people” Consumers prefer to hear from people who eat food, not entities who sell it. They are tapping into each other’s expertise on blogs, recipe forums and review sites. Specifically, they are tapping into the opinions of “real people” – individuals

(home-grown expert bloggers, personable celebrities, foodie friends, and moms) and the masses. Standby Meal Companion While eating or drinking at home, nearly onethird of Americans use social networking sites. Among Millennials (18-34 years old), this figure jumps to 47%. If you’re eating solo, chances are you’re also texting friends who live miles away or posting food photos to a review site.

Source of Food info 46% of online consumers said they spent more time engaged online, as opposed to 31% who said they’re equally engaged with both online and print. While 31% say they are inspired by food shows they watch on TV, 25% are inspired by recipe websites or phone apps, and 17% are inspired by restaurant review websites or phone apps.

View Social and Digital Media are Changing Food Culture on Slideshare

View Clicks & Cravings: Social Media & Mom on Slideshare

Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

You Share, We Care: Communicating the Future of Health in Europe 1. A new ecosystem: Power to the People

Pascal Beucler SVP & Chief Strategy Officer, MSLGROUP

The Social Shift is probably the biggest challenge many firms in the Healthcare sector are facing these days. But for many companies it is not an easy path to take. Legal constraints are tougher than ever, and regulations are tighter too. There is a growing public demand for "Corporate Citizenship" and patients, who are empowered by social media, now act as direct stakeholders in a relationship which, till now, used to be a purely Pharma/Physicians one. Engaging with people and patients’ communities is no longer an option. It is an absolute necessity. MSLGROUP’s EMEA Healthcare Practice recently conducted a “You Care, We Share” survey in which 70 top managers at healthcare companies from Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Scandinavia, Spain and Switzerland, shared their views on the macro trends shaping the healthcare market, from pharma, to the fields of nutrition and agribusiness. The results of the 'You Share, We Care' survey were shared during a private gathering that took place in Geneva this Summer, the purpose of which was to encourage reflection and stimulate debate among healthcare professionals. Some of the most insightful findings from the survey and conclusions reached during the meeting have been put together in a white paper: You Share We Care: Communicating the Future of Health. The white paper focuses on five particular areas:

Word of mouth has always been important in healthcare, but thanks to social media, millions of people are today talking about drugs on the Web without involving a doctor. Alongside challenges, this reality also offers opportunities to engage with patient groups online, leveraging their clout to communicate a healthcare company's messages. The managers surveyed are well aware of the impact digital communication is having on their industry, and want to become protagonists in the conversation around Health: • Nearly 2/3 of the managers interviewed think that social media offers an opportunity, while only a little more than 1/3 think scientific meetings are important. • Managers think that the social media revolution has occurred and therefore digital tools are an integral part of their communication campaigns (53 out of 70), although 34 out of 70 are worried by regulatory restrictions and approval processes. 15

• Social media is an important means of communication, but companies do not really know how to go about using social media as a tool and do not feel ready to handle the resulting open dialogue among stakeholders (49 out of 70)

2. A new deal: The EU and governments are increasing the pressure on healthcare companies

are to be perceived as part of the solution to Europe's healthcare challenges. Advocates have different opinions in different countries; they often do not agree with each other and are sometimes against companies on principle. The stronger activists are probably young people and patient groups. In order to target them we must find new tools and have clear strategies on what we want to achieve from them. Once again digital PR can be of help: monitoring opponents, neutral players and possible advocates.

4. A new paradigm: The need for innovation

Healthcare actors must balance the need to provide universal health care, and long-term care, with the increasing demands in the coming years associated with an ageing population, technological development and growing patient expectations. Innovative reimbursement strategies hold the key. Another important area of cooperation between stakeholders is the prevention of diseases, so as to save costs in the long-term. According to MSLGROUP’s survey “You share, we care!” 52% of the top healthcare managers in the industry in Europe agree (or strongly agree) that “more effective preventive measures and fundamental lifestyle changes need to be promoted to encourage overall healthy behaviour. But who is going to convince people to get ready to embrace healthier habits?

3. A new style of engagement: Towards advocacy

Healthcare companies must develop multi-pronged approaches to advocacy, focusing equally on the PanEuropean and local levels. There is also an urgent need to develop holistic external communications strategies - that put digital at their heart - if companies Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

From R&D, to reimbursement strategies and partnerships, there has never been a greater need for innovation in the sector. At the same time, it is crucial that healthcare companies better communicate the value of innovation to a skeptic public. When it comes to food safety and health, consumers are scared by innovation - especially chemical science - as they instinctively think that what is natural is good and what is artificial is dangerous. Companies need to promote innovation in research and technology and a higher awareness of the benefit of innovation for consumers.

5. A new mindset: Healthcare reputation and corporate citizenship

In a world where the relationship between business and society has significantly shifted, healthcare companies need to increase authenticity in their communications, win trust, and build reputation. They also have to focus on creating shared value with stakeholders, through collaborative social innovation.

From the MSLGROUP survey it is clear that managers think that disease awareness is relevant and HCPs are a priority in their communication strategies, but two thirds of respondents think that reputation management is important and is becoming more and more crucial. Moreover, it is time for companies to enhance how they communicate about the social impact of their actions, and to reinforce how they engage socially, so as to shift how society currently perceives given industries. Indeed, the MSLGROUP survey shows that â&#x20AC;&#x153;45 managers out of 70 believe that CSR is an integral part of their communication strategy,â&#x20AC;? yet the public may not be fully aware the industry holds that view. In order to strengthen their commitment, companies have to move from philanthropy to purpose, as a company's purpose must be placed at the core of their actions and activities.

Firms in the Healthcare sector at large need to not only rediscover their social purpose, but to also put it at the core of their businesses, and to consider it when engaging with all stakeholders. At MSLGROUP we believe that companies need to become PurPle by putting purpose and people at the core of their business and communications strategy. Purpose is about opportunity and potential. People make it real with their passion and insights. Health, wellness and nutrition is one of the four PurPle opportunity areas -- along with environment, education and human potential -- where companies can create shared value, for both business and society. To do this, healthcare companies need to inspire, organize and energize their stakeholders to share insights about their needs, and then care enough to act upon these insights.

View You Share, We Care: Communicating the Future of Health on Slideshare

Corporate Citizenship

CNN I’m Voting

I’m Voting Facebook app CNN partnered with Facebook to create the I’m Voting app to encourage people to discuss political issues and pledge to vote, and to share insights from these conversations in their coverage of the 2012 presidential elections.

The app will serve as a “second screen” for CNN's America’s Choice 2012 political coverage. Via onair, online and mobile segments, CNN personalities will use the app to ask Facebook users the most important questions driving the national dialogue and report on their answers.”

New direction for CNN With CNN TV ratings touching a 21 year low and with a 23% drop in the 24-54 year old category, analysts commend the network’s partnership with Facebook and efforts to revamp their news products. As Adweek writer Charlie Warzel pointed out: "With ratings falling to a 21-year low in the second quarter of this year, CNN needs to make bold moves to draw viewers to its broadcasts, and it's betting that Facebook is the answer."

Source: facebook.com

twitter.com/nprbusiness

In a press release, CNN shared:

Sam Feist, CNN Washington bureau chief shared CNN’s vision for the 2012 elections:

“The app will enable people who use Facebook to commit to voting and endorse specific candidates and issues. Commitments to vote will be displayed on people’s Facebook timeline, news feed, and real-time ticker…

“This partnership doubles down on CNN’s mission to provide the most engaging coverage of the 2012 election season. CNN’s unparalleled

political reporting combined with Facebook’s social connectivity will empower more American voters in this critical election season.”

Power of social influence The team behind the I’m Voting app and government 2.0 analysts believe that social citizenship can impact the outcome of the elections. The U.S. Politics team on Facebook wrote: “We believe that the power of friends — the social dynamic that creates a societal impact — will result in a more involved citizenry that turns out on Election Day, informed about the most critical issues facing the nation.” Alex Howard, Government 2.0 Correspondent at O’Reilly Media, addressed the question “Will “social citizenship” play a role in Election 2012?” in a blog post recently, and shared this quote from Dennis Crowley, Founder of Foursquare,: “If I check into a coffee shop all the time, my friends are going to be like, hey, I want to go to that coffee shop. We’re thinking the same thing could happen en masse if you start checking into these polling stations, if you start broadcasting that you voted, it may encourage other friends to go out there and do something.” A recent study from University of California, San Diego validates this theory. The study estimates that 340,000 votes in the U.S. Congressional elections in 2010 can be attributed to a Facebook message that prompted people to vote. 60,000 people who saw the Facebook message posted that they had voted, thereby influencing their friends and resulting in an additional 280,000 votes.

As Govind, member of the MSLGROUP Insights Network commented: “I love the fact that this initiative gets media to partner people in recognising and thinking of real issues, and lets people see that they are not alone. Also, as this movement grows, political parties get to see that they need to deliver.” Meghan McCain, daughter of 2008 presidential candidate John McCain, blogged: “In my opinion, It will be really interesting to see how this Facebook integration influences conversations surrounding the election among young voters, and if it will become a platform for bipartisanship.”

Too much politics on Facebook? However, several people are growing tired of the constant discussion of politics and the elections in media and on social media, and resent the additional discussions the app is likely to spark.

Source: venturebeat.com

As CNET reader jeffhesser commented: “Sweet. i was hoping we'd come up with a great way to incite facebook 'friends' into making comments that i will ultimately have to delete and unfriend.” Blogger Jordan Valinsky even featured the I’m Voting app in Daily Dot’s weekly column on things they hate about the internet:

James Fowler, the lead author of the study, highlighted the ‘friend factor’ as the main driver of change:

“CNN has found a new way to make your overtly political friends even more annoying: the network has debuted a new Facebook application that infiltrates your feed with their dumb political views.”

“Social influence made all the difference in political mobilization. It’s not the ‘I Voted’ button, or the lapel sticker we’ve all seen, that gets out the vote. It’s the person attached to it.”

Potential to gather metrics and insights

Good platform for debate People appreciate CNN’s efforts to create awareness and spark discussions around important issues, and point out the app’s potential in reaching young voters. Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

Corporate Citizenship

Analysts acknowledge the potential of the I’m Voting app to use metrics gathered from surveys and insights gleaned from conversations, both to predict trends and to better understand the views of the masses. Online radio host Tim Berge noted:

CNN I'm Voting

“Currently, about 25-hundred Facebook users have pledged to vote in November. Of the participating users, 53 percent said they are Democrat, while 25 percent are Republican, and 22 percent said they are Independent. And, despite what the candidates may be saying recently in their campaign attacks... most Facebook users are listing the economy as the most critical issue.”

Only represents Facebook & CNN fans Several people have criticized the data collected from the app, pointing out that it does not truly represent the view of Americans but of Facebook and CNN users, the majority of whom are democratic.

Privacy concerns People are also unhappy about the privacy concerns the app raises. Some are wary about sharing their preferences with Facebook. As aka_tripleB commented: “Who would want to give Facebook this kind of information? This will lead to all sorts of political calls and emails.” Others point out that voting is a private matter. As Brian, a reader of online news blog kurzweilai. net, pointed out: “The idea of voting includes privacy! It is a key element in the political process. This is persuasion through intimidation.”

Overall lack of trust & increase in cynicism

Source: facebook.com

The criticism and comments from app users indicate a lack of trust in the media and elections coverage.

Steve, a reader of online news blog kurzweilai. net, pointed out: “Deriving polling data from an app like this would be almost useless because your sample population would be skewed by only including FB & CNN users.” CNET reader Mr_Mop commented: “If there was a Yahoo! app, it would be 96% Republican 1% Democrat and 3% Independent. If you don't believe me, go read comments in political articles about Romney or Obama.”

Ignores independent candidates Some have criticized the app for naming only Obama and Romney and ignoring independent candidates such as Gary Johnson, which comprises quality of data collected, and misleads app users. As Jillian Mack commented: “What the heck kind of poll leaves out a two term governor (Gary Johnson) who is already on the ballot in more than enough states to achieve electoral victory as president? CNN has ZERO credibility as a news source with a poll like this.” Her comment was liked by 83 people.

Source: gallup.com

A Gallup survey released in September 2012 reported on this trend: “Americans are clearly down on the news media this election year, with a record-high six in 10 expressing little or no trust in the mass media's ability to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly… “On a broad level, Americans' high level of distrust in the media poses a challenge to democracy and to creating a fully engaged citizenry. Media sources must clearly do more to earn the trust of Americans, the majority of whom see the media as biased one way or the other..” 21

The lack of trust is paired with an increase in cynicism towards elections coverage. Instead of accepting data at face value, people are actively evaluating and forming their own opinions. As CNN reader ma3ai commented: “does anyone else notice how this exercise was only useful and meaningful to cnn itself? it's not a good representation of what americans think or people in general think. it is only a good representation of what cnn readers think. and they did it to poll their audience so that they can cater to the audience better.”

Role of data in election coverage Analysts and journalists speculate that digital tools and data will play a big role this year – in media coverage and in people’s minds, and most digital companies are riding on this hype with their own data products.

Twitter Political Index (source: twitter.com)

As blogger Katherine Leonard wrote: “Technology has certainly found its place in politics over the past four years, as is especially apparent come election season. Be it for traffic, data mining or a means of performing civic duty, the big names in tech, from Amazon to Microsoft to Google and Facebook, are providing the masses with a set of shiny new tools to be heard online.”

Will social trends predict next US president? Some people believe that social trends will indicate the outcome of the elections. As Nathan Ingraham, news manager at The Verge, commented: “By the time November 7th rolls around, we'll be able to see which social network did a better job at predicting the outcome of this year's presidential election.”

CNN & Facebook Election Insights (source: cnn.com)

Others caution that insights must be separated from noise and that social trends may not be an accurate measure of the entire population. As Dave Einstein, contributor at Forbes, explained: “Technology can be a two-edged sword. Remember the 1948 election, when the polls predicted a Dewey landslide over Truman? That election marked the first time pollsters relied on telephone surveys, giving them access to more voters—big data back then. It turned out that a lot of Truman supporters didn’t have phones.” Amazon Election Heat Map 2012 – What are Americans reading? (source: amazon.com)

Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

Corporate Citizenship

CNN I'm Voting

View this report directly on Slideshare

Chase Community Giving

Chase Community Giving Chase Community Giving empowers customers & employees to nominate charities to compete for a total of $7.5 million of funding. Charities with the most votes from the public win a larger share of the funding. In September 2012, 30,000 charities were nominated, and after two weeks of voting on Facebook, $5 million was donated to 196 charities across the United States. Chase Community Giving was launched in 2009.

“I have Diamond Blackfan Anemia and our charity just won $100,000 from Chase! It meant the world to us since there are only 700 patients worldwide. We are small community of people with a big goal of a cure!”

Charities gain funding & exposure Non-profit consultants believe that the platform offers charities more than funding – the charities also gain mass exposure and new supporters from the Chase Facebook community of 3.8 million people.

Source: facebook.com

People decide what matters

Source: facebook.com

People participated in the program to support causes they believe in, and in many cases, to give back to charities that have helped their loved ones and their local communities. As Kendra Kofron commented on Facebook: Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

Corporate Citizenship

As Carrie Hirmer, a consultant to non-profits, commented: “For us, being in one of these contest-type grants has been a wonderful thing so far. It may not work as well for some organizations. It has helped increase awareness of the need for our project and has served as a door-opener, so to speak,

Chase Community Giving

for relationships that will last long after the contest ends.”

Benefit to Chase By targeting charities with a voting contest, Chase energized the local communities of numerous causes, expanded exposure of the Chase brand, and built credibility as a socially responsible company. As Kimberly B. Davis, president of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, said: “Voting with Chase Community Giving helps to energize the vast number of supporters of so many great causes. At Chase, we are excited to lead local and national causes in finding a voice and raising awareness and critical funding for their work in communities.” Jack Ucciferri, blogger at the Huffington Post, took a more cynical view and pointed out: “What is Chase getting for the crumbs they're throwing in the direction of our favorite non-profits? Well, they are essentially buying brand value from the one sector that still has much credibility at all with the general public.”

“What put this campaign over the top, is how the community stepped up to help us. The Mayors office, The Chamber of Commerce, The Pheasant Lane Mall, The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Nashua, are just some examples of the community that really stepped up and helped us. The support of so many individuals in and outside the music field was amazing” Erich Timmerman, spokesman for JP Morgan Chase shared some of the innovations used by a local group: "Some people use Facebook and YouTube. One organization started a thing called virtual volunteering. They had people go to Starbucks with laptops and solicit votes."

But should charities participate? Members of the non-profit industry remain skeptical and divided about participating in voting contests, which minimize people’s involvement to just voting, pit charities against each other, and provide ‘free’ advertising for big corporations.

Indeed, Chase received numerous accolades from the public for helping out local communities. As Julie Brown commented on Facebook: “Way to go, Chase- it is refreshing to see a “big faceless corporation” making things right. Thanks for looking out for the little guys!”

Tapping into local communities The program sparked grassroots movements as local communities took it upon themselves to promote local charities, using tools provided by Chase as well as their own innovative promotion ideas.

Source: philantrophy.com

Beth Kanter, social media consultant for charities, cautioned: “For organizations that are pestering their supporters and friends to "vote for me" has the potential of eroding the hard earned social capital. It does not promote the good kind of relationship building that can really sustain an organization in the long run. It promotes transactional relationships.” Dana Gold, a non-profit executive, commented:

Source: nashua.patch.com

The power of local communities was evident for Spartans Drum and Bugle Corps, a small charity in Nashua, New Hampshire, which qualified for $50,000 in funding. As Paul LaFlamme, head of the institution, shared:

“I think vote driven, online philanthropy contests are an unfortunate trend. They pit deserving nonprofits against one another, increase apathy among supporters/donors who tire of the constant barrage of "vote for us" messages, and discriminate against emerging ideas/innovative initiatives with few backers. Vote driven online contests are really just very inexpensive ad campaigns for the company donating their funds. They get lots of good press 25

and lots of bang for a proportionately small buck. The amount of time non-profits spend begging for votes could be better used to educate supporters and enlist their support in more longer-impact ways.” On the other hand, Jon Camfield who organizes similar voting contests at Changemakers.com, pointed out one benefit of such as contests: “The increased funding transparency of competitions is a good thing for the social change sphere. Transparency changes the closed world of grant submissions into an open space. This allows the entrants to see who else is competing, how their idea is (or is not) differentiated, and gives a clear sense of what the funder is interested in. Hopefully, for the ideas that don't win, they at least also understand better why their idea was not selected, and have a path forward to evolve it or pursue more relevant funding sources.” Not all participants however agreed with the voice of the crowds.

As Facebook fan Shelly Griffin commented: “Being passionate about what you believe in is one thing. Being rude to and about the ones you are not, is offensive. Quite frankly, you are making a wonderful thing that Chase is doing into something very ugly… You were afforded "free advertising" on this page for your cause as well, and if you had so many voters, I bet it elevated your overall donations beyond what you would have received had you not been at this page at all.” Facebook fan Ryan Williams commented: “These contests reward charities who can actively engage their volunteer or donor base to go out and vote for them... Getting people actively involved in your mission is equally as important to the sustainability of a social movement as gathering outcome data.”

Wave of nationalism

Which charity is “more important”? With a maximum of 5 votes to cast and nearly 30,000 charities to choose from, people were forced ask themselves which cause was “more important,” leading to anger and bitterness after the winners were announced.

However, the decision to award the top grant of $250,000 to the Egyptian Cancer Network* was not received well, and people were enraged that the money would not be used to the benefit of U.S. citizens.

As Linda Percy commented “Hammonton Rescue Squad. In the business of saving lives. Yes human lives in all types of weather who really really really could have used the money since we have a lot of uninsured children and adults and migrant workers that have no insurance.... We don't even [get] considered. But yet its more important to fund a band or playground not save a human life... Chase should have given all charities some and not a bunch too a couple groups because they got a lot of votes.. we all could have benefited. JERKS”

Support for Chase Brand evangelists condemned the bitterness of “sore losers,” pointed out the benefits other than funding, and argued that charities that can successfully mobilize their communities to vote deserve to be rewarded.

Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

Corporate Citizenship

Source: facebook.com

As Holly Williams commented:

“It say community giving, since when is Egypt in OUR community? Ship it over seas and when your in trouble the AMERICANS will bail you out! I am extremely disappointed!” Some were especially outraged that Egypt was the main beneficiary of the contest given the recent protests at the U.S. embassy in Egypt (two weeks before the Chase Community Giving awards were announced).

Chase Community Giving

As Carol Ross commented: “I'm very surprised about the winner-please hold the money until they stop burning our flag and demonstrating their hatred for us.”

Charities vs. customers Most of the debate focused on which charity was most deserving, but several people pointed out that the $7.5 million could instead have been given to customers in the form of better rates and products. As Debbie Strong Washington commented: “not to seem crude, but what about just giving your real customers better rates on their savings accounts instead of giving money away to charities?”

Demand for shared value All the responses, both positive and negative, had one thing in common: they acknowledged and demanded the need for shared value, and rewarded or punished Chase for the same.

Indeed, upon hearing that the charity he voted for was disqualified with no explanation, Steve Joseph pointed out the need for customers to choose companies that provide shared value: “I'm truly sorry to read about [the disqualification] but I am not surprised. This simply deepens my efforts to move ALL my banking and investment efforts away from Chase bank and I would suggest to anyone after reading the above that you do the same. Only we can make the difference by aligning with individuals and businesses that have the better interests of our health as a key priority.” Others believed that Chase did provide value. As Ryan Wilson, a professional contest organizer commented: “Chase and Pepsi (re: Pepsi Refresh) got good mileage out of their campaigns, and they put up a ton of money to run them. So are these contests philanthropy or marketing? Can they be both and achieve simultaneous goals?”

View this report directly on Slideshare 27

Crowdsourcing

McDonald’s Mein Burger

Staying true to the fans People used the ‘Burger Configurator’ tool to choose from 70 ingredients (bread, meats, sauce) to build their dream burgers, and to give them personalized names. McDonald’s was sincere in its mission to give control to the fans, and the freedom to choose from so many ingredients no doubt contributed to the campaign’s success. Source: birgerking on Flickr

Germany’s 1st crowdsourced burger To celebrate its 40th anniversary in Germany, McDonald’s launched a sixmonth-long crowdsourcing campaign, inviting Germans to make their own burgers online. McDonald’s Germany had already created many ‘limited time only’ promotional burgers, and wanted to do something different this year. Digital agency Razorfish said: “We knew that many dreamed of creating their own individual McDonald’s burger. A burger that would appear on the plates of our two million daily guests. So we created a competition and invited everyone to take part. It was time for Germany’s first crowdsourced burgers. By the fans, for the fans.”

In contrast, German brand Pril had launched a similar campaign at the same time, which faced severe backlash online for being against the spirit of crowdsourcing. As Julian Schollmeyer, Client Services Manager, 1000 Heads – Berlin, wrote in his blog: “Henkel launched a campaign on the net where users could design their own ‘individual’ bottle using a tool set with mostly predefined graphics (i.e. colourful flowers, birds etc) to stamp on the virtual label. The two designs with the most votes would then hit the shelves in October. So far, so predictable. However, having users stamp pre-defined flowers on a label and then hailing it as a crowdsourcing campaign struck copywriter Peter Breuer [who started the backlash] as, frankly, lame.”

Crowdsourcing promotion McDonald’s further empowered participants to get votes, providing DIY tools to make personalized web banners, video promos and posters. One such marketing tool even allowed people to pit their burger against another, and post this on Facebook.

Source: stevinho.justnetwork.com

Impact online and in real life

Source: McDonalds.de

About 12,000 user-generated marketing campaigns were created, helping the campaign go viral, and 1.5 million votes were cast. Reuben Halper, a creative at Google UK pointed out the role of execution in achieving success: “It’s always nice to see examples of crowd-sourcing and co-creation done right. To be fair, it’s hard to do those types of campaign in a way that doesn’t feel gimmicky and benefits both the user and the advertiser… It’s all about the execution in this case as Razorfish… provided the tools for users [to] promote their burger creation and encourage their friends, as well as the general public, to vote for the eventual winners.”

New brand evangelists Five finalists were chosen based on public voting, and were given star treatment. They starred in their own TV commercials, and their burgers were served at 1,415 McDonald’s locations in Germany for a week each. The ‘Just Stevinho’ burger won after the last round of voting. Not only did McDonald’s gain five new burgers, but also five brand evangelists. Winner Steve Krömer especially evangelized the brand on his widely-read podcast-blog on gaming, with blogs posts promoting the campaign, gathering feedback on TV spots, defending McDonald’s customer service and launching the second edition of Mein Burger. Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

Crowdsourcing

Online, 116,000 burgers were created, 120,000 Facebook fans were gained, and every fourth online German was reached. These numbers nearly doubled in second edition of the campaign. In real life, the campaign set local benchmarks for promo burgers sold, customers gained and revenue raised. The results of Mein Burger were phenomenal, impressing even the digital agency that ran the campaign. Norman Rockmann, account director, Neue Digitale/Razorfish – Berlin, said: “We really did not expect to have this much success with the campaign. The [success] we had was in part 40, 50, 60 times higher than previous successful campaigns.”

People’s Insights on what worked Firstly, allowing participants to personalize burger names served as an outlet for creativity and, more importantly, as enticing short-form content pegs people could push out while asking for votes. As was noted on the MSLGROUP Insights Network,: “It helps differentiate the crowdsourced burgers without having to scrutinize the ingredients. The burger inventors can name their creations after themselves for an ego boost. And the comedians out there get to have some fun (someone even suggested a “Mc Gyver” burger!).”

McDonald's Mein Burger

The fanatic love for Bronies even surpassed the anti-junk food sentiment for some, as is evident in a comment by donstopme on Equestria Daily: “YES! Being German finally pays off! I normally avoid it, but I think it’s about time to visit McDonald’s again”

Global brand, local relevance Source: trendspektor.de

Secondly, online communities played a key role in building hype and spreading reach. In 2011, the campaign gained momentum as people reached out to their personal communities for votes. In 2012, communities such as 9gag, 4chan, MyDealz, and Bronies, helped McDonald’s reach new audiences. In fact, it was rivalry between the communities that led to a huge jump in votes cast, from 1.5 million in 2011 to 5 million in 2012.

By including traditional German ingredients in the Burger Configurator, McDonald’s was able to forge a deeper, more personal connection with Germans. As American-German blogger Steve Fuchs said: “This year’s first place winner has Germany written all over it…The ultimate winner was the Pretzelnator which consists of a pretzel bread bun with sour cream, onions, lettuce, schinken, hard cheese, beef, and cheddar cheese. What more could you expect from a German creation?”

Robin Joggarn Törnkvist, top commenter on a meme sharing site, tracked the voted received by the rival burgers: “Score is now: 9gag = 32k [and 4chan's] Mc Moot = 28,5k.” A large support group appeared seemingly out of nowhere from the community of ‘Bronies’ – male fans of the American animated TV series ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’. After receiving several requests for votes, German Brony, Sebastian, created and named a chicken burger after the character Scootaloo. Source: germanpulse.com

Source: trendspektor.de

Amused by an inside joke over Scootaloo and chickens, the burger made ripples in the global online community of Bronies. Discussions deemed McDonald’s the new location for German Brony meet-ups, and Sebastian’s Mein Burger entry received the maximum support – more than 160,000 votes.

In two years, more than 460,000 recipes were created and voted upon – an abundance of data and insights for McDonald’s. Indeed, Duncan Cruttenden, R&D manager, McDonald’s Germany, said: “We know better which ingredients and combinations consumers want.” McDonald’s may have achieved the right formula with the Mein Burger campaign, and has already replicated it successfully in Austria. The campaign has also launched with adaptations in the Netherlands and Spain.

Local campaign, global reach

The burger had, however, already attracted a few thousand votes and guilty giggles on meme sharing site Know Your Meme.

Digital is a global medium, and McDonald’s a global brand. As participants tapped into their communities to gather votes, they exposed McDonald’s and the Mein Burger campaign to people across the globe.

As Tublorene Jenkins commented: “McHolocaust… in Germany… I can’t stop laughing, it hurts.” Crowdsourcing clearly has its benefits, and to be successful requires a team equipped and prepared to retain control in favour of the brand.

The exposure led to positive responses, with several people expressing a desire to travel to Germany to eat the crowdsourced burgers. Others wrote open letters to McDonald’s, begging for the burgers or the campaign to come to the US.

Crowdsourcing in the F&B space

A blogger at Fat Brat wrote: “Make This Please: McDonald’s Pretzelnator… If McDonald’s doesn’t import this into the US I’m gonna, well…hm well I guess I’ll just be healthy and skinny with little to no cholesterol in my diet. BUT! That is not what I want, not what I desire.

To date, several food and beverage brands globally have experimented with crowdsourcing product innovation, to varying degrees of success, including Domino’s Pizza, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, and Mountain Dew.

What I want is the Pretzelnator, the result of a Mein Burger campaign held in Germany, and one of five delicious custom burgers that was crowd-sourced for this campaign. Bring it home McD’s, bring it home.”

Crowdsourcing campaign, and control Brands relinquish control when crowdsourcing content, and need to monitor their properties closely, and act swiftly to rectify embarrassing situations. To echo Reuben Halper, “it’s all about the execution.” McDonald’s and Razorfish did in fact monitor their properties, and were swift to disqualify fraudulent votes and inappropriate content, such as the ‘McHolocaust’ burger.

Source: McDonald’s.de

Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

Crowdsourcing

McDonald's Mein Burger

View this report directly on Slideshare

Foodspotting

What is Foodspotting? Foodspotting is a crowdsourcing platform that enables people to find and recommend dishes, not just restaurants. Foodspotters can share photos and ratings of their favourite dishes, and foodseekers can discover new foods.

Changing the way people discover food Foodspotting was founded with vision of one day replacing restaurant menus, and has already succeeded at becoming a visual and social guide for food discovery. Foodseeker Romulo shared his experience: “This app is fantastic to discovery new places and try new food, because you SEE the food so you decide right away if you [want] to try it. I loved it”

Source: foodspotting.com

Foodspotting has several elements in common with other social networks: people can upload photos from their phone, add locations and rate dishes. In fact, most people usually refer to Foodspotting as the Instagram / Foursquare / Yelp of food. Foodspotting can be accessed via the web and mobile, with mobile applications designed for iPhone, Android, Windows and BlackBerry phones.

Source: fastcompany.com

With 2.3 million photos uploaded, Foodspotting is now aiming to recommend new foods based on personal preferences and past activity. As Christina Chaey, Associate Editor at Fast Company, wrote: “Can An App Tell You What You Want To Eat? Foodspotting Is Trying”

Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

Crowdsourcing

Foodspotting

Tech Crunch blogger Anthony Ha aptly likened Foodspotting to music recommendation and discovery site Pandora.

Originally for foodies & photographers Foodspotting stands out from other social networks with its emphasis on food and photography. Originally, the platform catered exclusively to foodies & photographers, giving them a place to share photos and discuss food, as well as professional tips on taking photos in restaurants, and rewards for sharing photos. As foodspotter Tiff commented: “I admit it: I'm addicted to photographing what I eat. Foodspotting is the best place to output my tasty documentation.” As foodspotter Mike Templeton commented: “Foodspotting is one of my favorite apps, mostly because it addresses a niche cross-section: food and photos. Before I was tweeting what I was eating, using Yelp for reviews, plus checking in on foursquare – Foodspotting has connected all of those and made it fun.”

Useful for travelers

Travelers soon adopted Foodspotting as a tool to find food in new locations, to satisfy cravings for specific food, and to discover new foods in local neighbourhoods. As Android app user Jake said: “Great app for my tastebuds. Allows me to find excellent food in small towns as I travel.” As foodseeker Cheryl noted: “Pretty good to use. Gives a lot of info about what is close. Identifies small, tucked away places you may not know about.”

Now, for all foodseekers In Feb 2012, Foodspotting shifted focus from photo-sharing to broaden its appeal. Now, Foodspotting emphasizes features including food discovery, photo menus, recommendations from brands such as the Travel Channel, and ‘specials’ which include discounts. As Ryan Charles commented: “To me this redesign sounds like their successful accumulation of photos has them positioned to move from foodie photo app to universal food destination.” Blogger Harry McCracken commented on the redesign: “There’s probably a limit to how many folks there are in the world who want to obsessively photograph food. So the new version of Foodspotting that launched this week is designed to broaden the app’s appeal. The photo sharing’s still there–but it feels more like one feature in an app whose primary purpose is to let large numbers of people find and see the best dishes at local restaurants before they place an order.” Bloggers and Foodspotting users agreed the redesign is a step in the right direction, but also acknowledged that Foodspotting still has a way to go before it can replace food discovery competitors like Yelp. As Ishak Kang pointed out: “Still like Yelp for the “experience” review. Yes, it’s as important as the food.”

Source: play.google.com

Taking photos of food

Criticism: Taking photos at restaurants

Source: brandchannel.com

Several people criticize this trend of photographing food, especially at restaurants, finding it rude and distracting. Source: missmeng on Flickr

As Dervid McGurkin commented:

Food photography has become a global trend in the last two years. Foodspotters find themselves taking photos of food for various reasons: to capture and share a beautiful dish, to enhance their blog posts or restaurant reviews, or to document their meals.

“No self respecting "Foodie" is going to pull his gadget (phone, cam, etc.) out at a nice restaurant and snap a pic of it. It's rude.” With people spending more time on their mobile phones while dining out, browsing social networks or uploading food photos, they tend to neglect their companions – which some find offensive. As Andrew Lawson pointed out:

As Gary Walker noted: “Food is one of the reasonably small number of things all people do. People take pictures of food now that digital photography has made this easy, cheap, and universal”

“If the future of dining out is going into a restaurant, taking a photo of the drinks menu, taking a photo of the bar, taking a photo of the drink you get… then dining is going to lose a lot of its appeal.

Jennifer Yarbough commented: “I only do it if I'm reviewing a restaurant on Yelp, but I don't find myself sharing home-cooked meals. Some of my friends who love to cook and have a collection of cookbooks are much more enthusiastic about taking photographs. I am way more likely to try out a recipe if they include a photo of their finished product.” Michael Ong commented on this trend becoming the norm: “I feel that sharing my food pictures is like sharing a meal with my friends. Some people think it’s rude to take pictures, especially at a nice restaurant… However, some of us take pride in it and are leading the trend to make it a social norm. I think it is more acceptable now than a few years ago. My family and friends seem to know the ‘drill’ now that no one is supposed to touch the food until I shoot the plate.”

Combine this with no doubt having to check-in on Foursquare, update your Twitter status, Facebook status, checkin on Facebook, check emails, and man you are going to have some fun people out for dinner.” Some restaurants have tried to curb this trend with ‘no-phone’ policies. Others, such as The Melting Pot, have embraced the trend and partnered with Foodspotting to reach out to food lovers.

Does Foodspotting have enough users? While it has a rich database of 2.3 million photos and an enthusiastic community, Foodspotting has received criticism for not having enough users – and thus content – beyond certain hotspots like San Francisco. As foodspotter Andi commented: “Love finding new and exciting things to eat! Also love posting pics of my favorite foods! Great ap! Wish more people in my immediate area would use it.”

Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

Crowdsourcing

Foodspotting

As blogger Harry McCracken shared: “Judging from my experience so far, Foodspotting also doesn’t have a Yelp like critical mass of content practically everywhere. At the moment, I’m in Newton Corner, Massachusetts–not exactly a hotbed of fine dining–and only see a few photos from a few restaurants. Yelp, however, has dozens of nearby establishments that have dozens of reviews apiece. (Back home in food-centric San Francisco, Foodspotting is a much richer resource.)”

Importance of mobile experience

For some, integration is important as they are growing tired of checking too many networks. As Nick Slettengren commented: “Why not plug into the various social media API's like Facebook and twitter instead of trying to make up your own social network?” While Foodspotting definitely benefits from exposure in more popular apps such as Foursquare, is it losing out on potential users due to this integration?

Is Foodspotting here to stay?

As mobile users are becoming more sophisticated, the pressure to create a smooth user experience increases. Android app users of Foodspotting have been vocal in their appreciation of the app, and also in their criticism of the user experience. For some, issues faced while using the app could be a deal breaker. As Android app user Childfree commented: “This used to be my fav app! Some people pray before a meal but this app had me snapping pics! Then one day the app had NO PICS!? WTF? So disappointed! I even tried re-installing...still the pics wont load! If this isn’t fixed soon I will be uninstalling this app for good!”

Competition with other social networks? Foodspotting uses APIs from other social networks to create a richer experience for users, and offers its own API as well. This means users can choose to access other apps from Foodspotting, or to use Foodspotting from other apps.

Source: forbes.com

While Foodspotting is popular amongst foodies, and is constantly innovating to deliver more value, most people agree that the future will be tough as more and more competitors emerge in the online food space. As Pearl Chen pointed out: “I do worry about how many foodspotting-esque apps currently exist though. (Nosh being the closest that I know of, and Oink and Stamped (as you mentioned) being variations.)”

As GigaOm blogger Erica Ogg noted on Foodspotting’s use of the Yelp API: “Foodspotting moves to ensure you don’t need Yelp’s app.” And as Foursquare user Erick Jcm commented: “Love the app, but I’m from Guatemala and here people uses Foursquare a lot, I can find a lot of things using fsq but I would completely love Foodspotting if existed an integration with fsq venues to find and spot dishes, more quickly and with more reliable location using fsq.”

View this report directly on Slideshare

Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

Crowdsourcing

Foodspotting

Kickstarter

Project starters should engage with the community of backers, answer questions and provide updates on progress.

Source: Kickstarter.com

Paul Hildebrandt, whose project “Fight For Space – Space Program & NASA Documentary” was successful in raising funds, included an HD trailer, video footage from the National Space Symposium, and a list of interviewees in his project page.

What is Kickstarter? Kickstarter is the largest US crowdfunding platform, empowering artists and inventors to raise funds from crowds of individuals. Since 2009, Kickstarter has helped raise more than $250 million for more than 24,000 projects. Mike Bulajewski, User Experience Designer, described Kickstarter on his blog Mr. Tea Cup, as: ”A place where artists and engineers can connect with the people in direct peer-to-peer relationships who aren’t just buying entertainment, they’re helping make dreams a reality.”

Getting your project funded Anyone who is above 18, a citizen of the U.S. and qualifies for Amazon Payments can start a project. To be successful in raising funds, projects should have realistic and well-defined scopes and budgets.

Source: kickstarter.com

He also posted frequent updates to thank backers and motivate others to support the project: “We are on day 4 and have raised over $12,000 out of our $65,000 goal… Thank you all for your support, it is because of bold people like you who are willing to support a project such as this one that we will be able to tell this story and educate, inspire, and motivate the public about how beneficial space exploration really is. Continue to Fight for Space and we can all make a difference.” 39

To be successful, projects must also set a funding goal and a funding deadline. Starters can refer to Kickstarter Stats and an analysis of 10,000 successful projects across different categories to decide on an appropriate goal. While the limit for funding deadlines is 60 days, Kickstarter recommends a shorter duration: “Statistically, projects lasting 30 days or less have our highest success rates. A Kickstarter project takes a lot of work to run, and shorter projects set a tone of confiden ce and help motivate your backers to join the party. Longer durations incite less urgency, encourage procrastination, and tend to fizzle out.” In addition, projects must offer rewards to their backers. Meaningful and reasonable rewards increase the chances of the project meeting the funding goal.

Roughly 44% of Kickstarter projects are successful in meeting their funding goal.

Strictly for creative projects Kickstarter is strictly for creative projects and does not allow funding for causes, charities or ‘fund-my-life’ projects. Projects must fall under specific categories, including film, music and design, and must have a tangible end product (such as a music album). As a result, Kickstarter has received accolades from the media for creating a successful alternative funding source for artists in a down economy.

Paul Hildebrandt offered twelve different types of rewards, catering to pledges from $10 to $10,000. An example reward: ”Pledge $75 or more – Behind The Scenes Pack: All of the above, PLUS: A behind the scenes documentary made about the making of this film. We go over equipment, scripting, research, and many aspects of how to produce an independent documentary film. BONUS: A Fight For Space T-Shirt.”

Source: nytimes.com

Patricia Cohen, New York Times, wrote about the hardship faced by the art industry: “In the last year alone, money troubles have pushed the New Mexico Symphony to close, New York City Opera to slash its budget by two-thirds and the State of Kansas to eliminate all public financing for the arts.” James Reed, Boston Globe, described a similar situation in the music industry: “As the music industry’s financial resources continue to crumble, more independent musicians are turning to fans to directly finance work that might not otherwise get done.” Rub Lerner, president of non-profit Creative Capital called crowdfunding “mass microphilantrophy.” Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing described Kickstarter as a way for artists “to make fine art without galleries or grand committees or gazillionaires.”

‘All or nothing’ funding A project must meet its funding goal by a set deadline in order to receive funds. Kickstarter believes this “protects everyone involved,” as projects with insufficient budgets are less likely to succeed. Once the goal has been met, the project receives all

Source: kickstarter.com

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Kickstarter

the money pledged, even if it is in excess of the goal. Peter Chen, Co-Founder of Kickstarter, explained that the strict guidelines aim to shape the project proposals and the subsequent creations: “Once you add constraints, that’s what happens. We want that to happen.”

Notable projects funded on Kickstarter Two Academy-Award-nominated documentaries, art projects exhibited in the Museum of Modern Arts, an iPod Nano watch, and 10% of films submitted to Sundance got their start on Kickstarter.

everyone can. And should. Being a science major only emphasizes the responsibility I feel for the future of our nation.” For some, it’s about contributing to make a personal dream come true. Chris De Laet, a backer of the same documentary shared, “I kicked in $40, but if I had it I’d kick in $10k. It’s an important story. People need to know why NASA isn’t just “another government waste project”. I lived in Cape Canaveral when I was growing up and Space Exploration was as important to me as breathing. I STILL own [the] over-1000 page press packet that NASA gave out when they introduced the Space Shuttle. I haven’t forgotten what exploration used to mean. I hope this project reminds everyone.”

Beyond funding – community

Source: nytimes.com

Thousands of projects are currently in the process of going live, with thousands more still in the funding stage. 2012 has seen an influx of creative projects from lesser known artists, as well we more well-known creators such as musician Amanda Palmer, authors Neal Stephenson and Seth Godin, actor Whoopi Goldberg and animator John Kricfalusi.

What drives project starters and backers? Project starters come to Kickstarter to give life to their creative ideas. Backers come for a variety of reasons: to support friends, give back to the community, or commission creation of cool products they’d like to own. Xavier Barnes described the latter quite succinctly on Kickstarter’s Facebook page: “Kickstarter, making great sh*t possible on a daily basis.” For other backers, it’s about making a difference. Matt Christenson, a backer of the Fight for Space documentary said, “I’m a senior at a university and I make $7,000 a year. I donated $25 to this, and if I can donate-then

Kickstarter sees the platform as more than just a way to raise money. It also connects starters with their audience, helps promote their work, and in some cases helps them improve their work. Most successful starters feel the same way. Scott Wilson, starter of the popular LunaTik iPod Nano watch, shared his experience: “Backers are generally in it not only for the product but to see you succeed, it seems. It’s great to feel so much positivity vs. the typical snarky and hater mentality you often see on the blogs. I think that if the right story, solution and design were presented on this platform, and the creator had open dialog via the blog during development, it could fuel some solutions that could have a positive social impact.”

Revenue model Kickstarter takes a 5% cut of the money raised, and Amazon Payments, the payment platform, takes an additional 3%-5%. While some say this is too high, most argue that the value provided justifies the cut. A comment on blog Mr. Tea Cup summed it up: “The cost of capital through Kickstarter is far less than traditional funding sources. And while Kickstarter may not be your version of a perfect business, and I agree it can be improved upon, I think they have done an invaluable service to the nascent sharing economy by demonstrating that collective decision-making about project funding can work.” 41

Exponential rise in dollars pledged

Legal and tax implications?

While most successful Kickstarter projects receive less than $10,000, a few crossed the six- and seven-digit mark in early 2012. In March 2012, Double Fine Adventure raised $1 million in under 24 hours.

As the amounts raised cross six digits, and Kickstarter plans its UK launch, industry watchers are pointing out the need for laws to safeguard backers, and to clarify the tax status of the funding. And starters need to consider investing some of the funds in hiring legal and financial specialists to keep their projects on the right track.

Post funding – the work has just begun Critics point out that there is a lack of accountability of projects once they are funded. Online publication Charlottesville News & Arts shared an example: “Last year, the would-be creators of video-recording glasses earned a whopping $343,415, meeting their goal, but the backers have yet to receive finished products, and many fear the creators have abandoned the project altogether. Who’s to stop them? No one, it seems. Kickstarter can’t take legal action, and since the average donation is small, few backers have a big enough stake to sue the project’s creators.”

Source: forbes.com

Crowdfunding beyond Kickstarter Kickstarter is just one platform in the crowdsourcing industry. Others include Indiegogo which caters to more diverse projects including ‘fund-my-health,’ and is less restrictive regarding ‘all or nothing funding’. Overseas, zeczec caters to Taiwanese crowds Source: businessinsider.com

Critics also point out that the money raised is an investment, not a ‘gift.’ Once they are funded, artists have to prove their business mettle in creating the product and delivering rewards to their backers.

Source: businessinsider.com

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Kickstarter

View this report directly on Slideshare

LoudSauce

What is LoudSauce? LoudSauce is a crowdfunding platform that funds advertising for social good. People upload video, print & outdoor ads and pledge money, and LoudSauce organizes the media buy and publishes the ads.

Giving a voice to concerned citizens Advertising was previously limited to deeppocket corporate advertisers. LoudSauce was founded with the vision to give voice to individuals and small organizations. As a Triple Pundit blogger pointed out: “The offering is targeted toward individuals, artists, and organizations that have something important to say but do not have the means necessary to reach millions.”

San Francisco Bay Billboard Campaign (source: loudsauce.com)

Termed the ‘Kickstarter’ of grassroots advertising by GigaOm blogger Barb Darrow, LoudSauce has enabled 2,304 pledges of $131,045 for 35 campaigns, and the crowdfunded ads have reached 30 million people. The campaigns are further amplified by media coverage and online mentions. Several campaigns received mainstream coverage, including: the Occupy TV spots, and the ‘See you in Greece’ billboard in NYC Times Square.

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Blogger and social activist Jeremy Williams highlighted the potential for good: “Most of us can’t afford a billboard. But if we got together with like-minded people and each chipped in a bit, perhaps we could use just a small part of the advertising network for something positive.” Indeed, individuals and organizations have used LoudSauce to stand up for causes they believe in, connect with like-minded people and drive change. Here’s a comment from LoudSauce donor Rebecca Petzel: “I would love to see a LoudSauce campaign to get billboards and commercials highlighting the corporate money in the no on prop 37 campaign… or just a pro prop 37 campaign. Do we have any friends who are working in this field? I would even give more than my standard $5 :) ” LoudSauce

Reaching new audiences Bloggers, activists and LoudSauce users agree that the platform helped them reach out to large audiences (many of whom would not seek out the causes on social media) and increase their support community. Blogger Beth Buczynski pointed out the importance of reaching new crowds: Up Greek Tourism ad using pictures of 333 amplifiers (source: nytimes.com)

As Yorgos Kleivokiotis, organizer of the Up Greek Tourism campaign on LoudSauce, commented: “Governments are trying to find solutions, but we as individuals should not wait, we need to help ourselves.”

When earned media doesn’t work Several people have used LoudSauce in situations when a story was not large or exciting enough for journalists to pick up, and when earned media would not be able to reach the desired number of people. Heath Wickline, an independent consultant who organized a successful LoudSauce campaign for NGO Uniting NC, shared his experience with earned media: “One area where things didn’t quite go as expected was with earned media. Despite some concerted outreach to local press and bloggers in North Carolina, we couldn’t get folks to cover the campaign for the billboards. Several reporters told us that they thought the billboards themselves were the real story, and that they’d consider covering them when they were up.” Indeed, many campaigns received coverage only after their LoudSauce ads went live (see point #3 in this blog post). Journalist Denise Tejada interviewed Marti Roach, one of the organizers for the Occupy TV ad, on why she chose LoudSauce: “According to Roach, the purpose of the ad is to raise awareness regarding the positive developments that are coming out of the occupy movement. She also says the occupy movement is so large and can be hard to understand, so it’s important to direct people to these solutions so they have a better understanding of the movement.”

“Most of these [social media] outlets require people to “opt in” to receive updates and invites. This means that for the most part, organizations with the ability to catalyze social and environmental change end up preaching to the choir. The people who really need to hear, read, and see these messages are those who would never sign up for a newsletter about economic inequality or watch a YouTube video about climate change.”

Uniting NC billboard campaign in North Carolina (source: hwickline.com)

Heath Wickline shared his NGO’s success in increasing leads via their LoudSauce campaign: “More than half of those who donated through the LoudSauce platform were new supporters of the organization. Those individuals’ email addresses represented a 5% increase in the size of Uniting NC’s list, and every one of them connected with the organization for the first time as a donor.”

Money where your mouth is With crowdfunding platforms becoming increasingly popular, people have more opportunity to help causes they are passionate about. Indeed, more and more people are now using their money to shape the world they live in. Colin Mutchler, founder of LoudSauce, offered an explanation for the trend: “Crowdfunding is often motivated by a desire to be involved in something worthwhile, and to feel the pride of giving to a good cause.”

Empowering only those with money?

environmental sustainability, or countless other worthy causes.”

Limited potential?

Some bloggers pointed out that crowdfunding does not highlight the voice of everyone, but only those with money. As blogger Micaela Samodelov noted:

While several people agreed with the potential of LoudSauce in reaching wider audience, most agree that the platform is best suited to bringing about change at a local level. As Jeremy Williams wrote:

“The downside to the democratic aspect of crowdfunding is that participants have to vote with their dollars. The ads funded, or elected, reflect the interests of people who can afford to spend more.”

“It’s futile to see [LoudSauce] as a big solution. But for a specific issue in a local area, I think it could be powerful. It’s one tool among many, and no substitute for actually building the alternatives.”

Others argue that crowdfunding is a communityengagement process. Joe Brewer argued this at length in his blog post, Why Crowdfunding isn’t Really about Money:

Others point out that the potential of crowdfunded ads is limited, since billboard companies can and have refused to run the more controversial ads. One such campaign targeted Senator Scott Brown in Boston, and was banned by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

“Yes, there must be money pledged by fans. And the amount of money raised needs to be sufficient for achieving the goals set out initially by the project’s host. But the central action centers around meaningful engagement that empowers the crowd to create something new. This is why crowdfunding has so much potential for “game changers” in the arena of social movements. It is a fundamentally empowering process that engages people in meaningful action.”

Crowdfunding shouldn’t replace other efforts

Source: loudsauce.com

Activists warn that funding an advertisement is good to create awareness for a specific cause, but not a solution to broader societal issues. As Jonathon Rutherford commented: “Given our situation [LoudSauce] (like so many other things) is largely a waste of time and energy in my view. The best thing concerned activists can do to save the planet and create a more just world, is build the local non-market alternatives economies/institutions in the towns and suburbs where they live.” Micaela Samodelov pointed out that people should continue to support efforts and organizations that are tackling these issues: “Funding a LoudSauce campaign may represent a good alternative to using disposable income to buy some unnecessary and unsustainable consumer product… but a donation for a non-commercial advertisement should not replace broader support for organizations working toward social justice, Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

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While the Boston campaign was promoted using bicycle ads as an alternative, not all campaigns have found creative solutions. As Byron Smith pointed out: “Here and there, an occasional campaign may have tactical advantage in using these options, but the benefits are limited. Witness the attempt to SumOfUs in the US recently to respond to the Heartland mass murderer billboard with a campaign of their own on the same billboards… The billboard company refused to run it, saying that they won’t run anything that is critical of corporations who are also their customers.”

Role in election Some bloggers believe that LoudSauce can play a role in amplifying the voice of the crowds in the upcoming presidential elections. $194 million has already been spent by the Super PACs this year. As former LoudSauce campaign manager, Caroline Henderson, commented on Facebook: “I’m beginning to see how the crowd can take back the LoudSauce

conversation from Super-PACs and the super wealthy.” Blogger Barb Darrow of GigaOm.com noted: “As the rhetoric of this election year heats up, there will be more ads. But for anyone who is not a Koch brother or a gigantic company but wants to be heard will probably need help with funding. That’s where LoudSauce fits in.”

Future of media & advertising? As people debate the impact LoudSauce can make on society, some have begun to consider and discuss the possibility of more advertisements that reflect the voice of people and not just messages of consumerism. A blogger at Springwise commented that such advertising is overdue:

“Big media has had control over the advertising space for such a long time, isn’t it time consumers had some say over what gets shown?” Advertiser Michael Caissie found the concept inspiring: “This is the kind of idea that many, I mean many agencies should start offering. I work in advertising and my goal is to make a more human way of communication and this concept of ideas coming from the public is almost to me revolutionary. Talking about potential.” And, social entrepreneur Connie Kwan put forward the golden question: “Is it possible to transform advertising from a medium of consumerism to one of citizen participation?”

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Anthon Berg Generous Store What is Generous Store?

To hold people to their promises, Anthon Berg staff provided iPads at check out and asked people to log on to Facebook and pledge the good deed on a friend’s Facebook wall.

Source: Facebook.com/AnthonBerg

In February 2012, chocolatier Anthon Berg inspired a ‘sweet’ movement of generosity by setting up a one-day pop up store in downtown Copenhagen, Denmark. Instead of paying by cash and credit cards, people paid for chocolates with “good deeds.” Different packages of chocolate had different ‘prices,’ ranging from “Serve breakfast in bed to your loved one,’ ‘Help clean your friend’s house,’ and ‘Don’t comment on your girlfriend’s driving for a week.’

Source: youtube.com

‘You can never be too generous’ Established in 1884, Anthon Berg was famous for its premium quality chocolate, and catered to upper middle class Danes and the Royal Danish Court. Long lines were common outside the store, and Berg and his staff often passed out chocolates to those waiting. It was this spirit of generosity, and the premium chocolate that helped build the brand over the last century.

Source: youtube.com

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Anthon Berg Generous Store

However, the brand has languished in recent years, and has lost the perception of being different and superior to other chocolate brands. The Generous Store was launched to re-establish these values, rejuvenate the brand, and help it stand out in the minds of consumers. Robert/Boisen & Like-Minded (RB+LM), the agency behind the campaign, described the brief they received from Anthon Berg:

Generosity spreads through social media Within 24 hours of the pop-up store event, 150,000 feeds were posted on the Anthon Berg Facebook page. This included the pledges people made while ‘purchasing’ the chocolates at the store, and follow up posts after they had carried out the good deeds.

“The client wanted us to make people rediscover the Anthon Berg brand and make them engage with the positive effects of being generous. As the client firmly expressed it: ‘Give people a reason to be generous; spark a wave of generosity; and make it travel through Denmark with our name on it.’” By asking people to pledge a good deed, Anthon Berg not only sparked a wave, but also successfully crowdsourced acts of generosity from all the people who ‘purchased’ chocolates at the store.

Response at the store Designed to attract attention, the pop-up store stood out with its pink branding and a pink entrance area. A large banner read, “The Generous Store,” and blocked view into the store, raising curiosity amongst the people passing by.

Source: youtube.com

According to Robert/Boisen & Like-Minded, 20% of the customers posted pictures of the good deeds. Anthon Berg reported a 33% increase in number of fans, and a 1,000% increase in number of people ‘talking about this.’

By opening hour, a large crowd had gathered and queued up outside the store. Some waited as long as an hour and a half to enter. In the true spirit of generosity and Anthon Berg tradition, staff handed out chocolate to people waiting in line, adding to their excitement and eagerness to enter the store.

Source: youtube.com

Sources: AnthonBerg.com

Sources: Facebook.com/AnthonBerg

A video documenting the events taking place inside and outside the store was uploaded on YouTube, has been viewed 97,193 times, with most views in Saudi Arabia, Denmark and Spain.

Coverage in local and international blogs

The Guardian quoted Mason’s views on this subject: “For consumers long used to (and annoyed by) distant, inflexible and self-serving corporations, any acts of kindness by brands will be gratefully received. For brands, increasingly open communications both with and between consumers (especially online), means that it’s never been easier to surprise and delight audiences with [random acts of kindness]: whether sending gifts, responding to publicly expressed moods or just showing that they care”.

PR efforts, on-ground hype and social media activity ensured coverage in local Danish news sites, and popularity of the idea helped spread it across the web, with mentions in more than 1,000 blogs and websites. According to RB+LM, the campaign has reached 1 in 20 people in Denmark in two weeks, and 3.75 million people on social media.

Impact on bottom line Some skeptics wondered about the practicality of the Anthon Berg pop up store, and whether the event would be filled with freeloaders who would not convert into customers. Some, like Janet-Marie Persico, a reader of PSFK. com, questioned the feasibility: “[It is a] Feel-good idea but let’s be realistic. You can’t run a biz on promises. Who pays for the candy?”

Source: brandingmagazine.com

Lana Markovic, blogger at Branding Magazine commended the Anthon Berg’s use of social media and ‘free stuff’ to re-establish the brand’s popularity:

For those unconvinced about the reach of The Generous Store, and the positive brand equity earned by Anthon Berg, the sales figures for February can put these concerns to rest. Sales increased 12% compared to the same month last year.

“Is there a better way of getting customers’ attention than by giving them free chocolates and at the same time getting them to make someone else happy? With this campaign, the Danish chocolatier managed to reinforce its leading statement – by inspiring people to be more generous the company has created a happier society, and the brand’s popularity has been reestablished.”

As the team at RB+LM proudly stated: “So apparently, generosity does pay.”

Trend: crowdsourcing generosity and kindness With the rise of social media, and the current state of the economy, brands have begun to see the potential in supporting movements of generosity and kindness.

Martina Best, blogger at Australian social media agency Frank Media, highlighted the benefits brands can hope to derive by being generous: “So what’s in it for Anthon Berg? How does generosity pay off for a brand? The pop up store generated a lot of buzz internationally with heaps of blogs picking up the campaign. From a PR perspective, it could not have been better. If you looked at some hard metrics such as brand awareness, brand sentiment as well as sales, I’m sure Anthon Berg saw some rather impressive results.” Henry Mason, head of research and analytics at independent firm Trendwatching, attributed the opportunity for these “random acts of kindness” to social media, for opening channels of communications between brands and consumers. Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

Crowdsourcing

MSLGROUP’s global offering PurPle points out the opportunity for good business growth by supporting purposes that people are passionate about, including areas of “happiness, kindness and human potential.” A Young & Rubicam survey, quoted in The Guardian, finds that: “Once-prized brand attributes that had declined in importance over the past couple of years were: “exclusive” (down 60%), “arrogant” (41%), “sensuous” (30%), and “daring” (20%).

Anthon Berg Generous Store

Conversely, the brand attributes consumers found more important were: “kindness and empathy” (up 391%), “friendly” (148%), and “socially responsible” (63%).” Coke’s global Open Happiness initiative and the recent happiness mobile campaign, and the Perfetti-Alpenliebe’s Kindness Movement in China are examples of branded initiatives designed to spread happiness.

An emerging trend that is apparent in these two campaigns, is that brands are empowering people to perform acts of generosity or kindness. In return, brands are benefitting from generation of positive brand equity and an exponential increase in reach.

View this report directly on Slideshare

Hilltop Reimagined for Coca Cola Classic ad re-launched with a digital twist

First United Chorus of the World (via Coke Lore).

In 2011, Google partnered with Coca Cola to re-create the iconic 1971 Hilltop TV commercial for a digital era, enabling people to “buy the world a Coke” using their mobile phones – and Google technologies.

Source: youtube.com

Source: ProjectReBrief.com

The campaign stands out for two reasons. First, the campaign’s achievement of Coca Cola’s 40 year dream of connecting people across the world over a Coke. Second, the award winning story Google created to promote its products to advertisers.

The original 1971 Hilltop ad In 1971, creative director Bill Backer saw people bonding over Coke at an international airport, and penned the line, “I wish I could buy the world a Coke.” He transformed this into a radio jingle, and art director Harvey Gabor came up with a concept for the television commercial: The Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

Crowdsourcing

The ad struck an emotional chord, delivering a message of unity in a time when the Vietnam War was growing increasingly unpopular in America. People called radio stations requesting they repeat the jingle, and sent over 100,000 letters to Coca Cola. This inspired the producer Billy Davis to release a full length song, titled “I wish I could Teach the World to Sing (in Perfect Harmony),”which become a Top 10 hit on national charts. The Hilltop ad entered the Advertising Hall of Fame, and caught the attention of Google forty years later, when Google launched Project Re:Brief to re-imagine classic ads.

Hilltop Reimagined for Coca Cola

The re-imagined campaign

Response to the re-imagined ad

Google worked with the now retired Harvey Gabor on the re-imagined version of the Hilltop ad.

Created as part of Google’s B2B outreach to advertisers, the re-imagined campaign was executed on a small scale, with vending machines in only four cities. But those who heard about the campaign wanted to see it launched full-scale and in more locations.

Using mobile apps and interactive display ads on YouTube, people could send a Coke to specially designed vending machines in New York City, Mountain View California, Cape Town and Buenos Aires, along with a short text or video message. A video animation showed the Coke being sent to its destination on Google Maps, and a free Coke was dispensed at the destination in real time. Receivers could share their appreciation via text and video messages which were then emailed to the senders and uploaded to YouTube. Text messages that were in a foreign language were translated to English courtesy of Google Translate.

YouTube user Camerontrotter12 commented: “Please Coke and Google, for all that is good in the world, make this happen!” YouTube user ChalkeyProductions commented on the potential for this campaign to create a movement for social change: “This really should be released and not just be a prototype. If eventually you could gift Coke globally, not only would this finally complete the original vision, but it could inspire other companies to do the same thing, and eventually vending machines could be placed in lesser fortunate areas and people could buy food via iOS and Android devices for them. The potential is endless.”

Source: ProjectReBrief.com

The videos generated show a young boy in America sending a Coke, messages being shared between Cape Town and Buenos Aires, and a man in New York expressing that this was ‘the best Coke he’s ever had.’ Here’s our favorite video, where an 18 year old from New York sends his ‘first gift to a stranger’:

Source: ProjectReBrief.com

The re-imagined ad also inspired budding advertising. As YouTube user Cr00nger commented: “This made me tear up a bit. I hope I’ll be able to do something like this in my career, before I turn 30.”

Source: youtube.com

In a video, Harvey Gabor commented: “Forty years ago Bill Backer and myself had a wish, and that was to buy the world a Coke. I am honored to have lived long enough to see that wish become a reality.”

Spreading happiness Coke has always been an evangelist of happiness, evident in the 1971 Hilltop ad and its current day positioning, “open happiness.’ This campaign takes that evangelism to the next level, empowering people to both spread and experience happiness.

The bigger story – Google Project Re:Brief Google embarked on Project Re:Brief, to inspire advertisers to explore the creative potential of the digital medium, and to showcase innovative ways to use Google technologies. Aman Govil, Product Marketing Manager, Google, described the goal: “We started thinking, how do we show what’s actually possible when you combine great creative ideas with technology… Until today, we’ve been doing digital advertising. What we’re trying to do is, do a subtle mind shift from digital advertising to advertising for the digital age.”

Source: youtube.com

Jackie Jantos, Global Creative Director, CocaCola commented that this is what they set out to achieve: “What we’re trying to do is move from online community talking about happiness to provoking it in real life.” Advertising agency Bates Creative pointed out that Coca Cola also succeeded in engaging fans and creating brand advocates: “Not only does this get fans involved through a mobile app, it also creates the mindset of wanting to share the happiness that a Coke evokes to a complete stranger. At Bates Creative, that’s why we think Coca-Cola is a brand that gets It. It’s all about inspiring your audience to become an active member for your brand.”

While demonstrating the power of the medium was one half of the challenge, Google also needed to speak the language of advertisers, and craft a winning story. Google did this by roping in the original ad men on the four iconic ads re-imagined, sharing their story, and documenting the challenge of reimagining the ads – both on the web and in a feature length documentary. Elements of storytelling are apparent even in the way Google promotes the Re-Imagined Hilltop ad for Coca Cola. Instead of just focusing on the innovation, Google focuses on the vision behind the campaign (to fulfill a 40 year old brand promise), and uses video to capture the emotions of the people touched by the campaign. Jim Lecinski, Vice President, US Sales & Service, Google, said: “We started to think about how Web ads can move from being informative and transactional to delighting and engaging, stirring the soul and building a brand.” Indeed, these efforts were successful in getting the attention of advertisers, and winning their approval. Project Re:Brief has received widespread coverage in advertising publications, 580,314 views on its YouTube channel, and was awarded the inaugural Mobile Lions Grand Prix at Cannes this year.

Source: ProjectReBrief.com

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Hilltop Reimagined for Coca Cola

View this report directly on Slideshare

Alpenliebe Kindness Movement Why kindness?

Alpenliebe is the flagship brand of Perfetti Van Melle, a global manufacturer of confectionery. The rich, milky caramel toffee entered the China market 15 years ago, and was the number one confectionary brand in China in terms of volume. In 2011, Alpenliebe launched a year-long initiative to catalyze a kindness movement and inspire millions of Chinese youth to appreciate, share stories about and engage in everyday acts of kindness.

Research showed that happiness, kindness and human potential are the most important opportunity areas in which brands can bring about positive change - and in China in particular, young people were looking for warmth, reassurance and kindness. Moreover, urban Chinese youth needed an outlet for the relentless pressures of China’s economic progress. Alpenliebe provided this to them in the form of the kindness movement. In his book Marketing 3.0, Philip Kotler mentioned the importance of brands creating an emotional relationship with customers in the digital era: “Marketers should approach customers as whole human beings with mind, hearts, and spirits, because consumers are looking for solutions to their anxieties about making the globalized world a better place.”

Source: chinadaily.com

Importance for Alpenliebe Alpenliebe realized that while it was still recognized by consumers, it wasn't known for anything in particular. It was at risk of becoming perceived as irrelevant and outdated, in a market that was awash with brands creatively engaging with consumers.

You Zhihai, founder of non-profit 1kg.org – partner to the Alpenliebe Kindness movement, described kindness as: “Charitable and kind behavior are not all about giving money. They are more about taking care of others and showing concern for others.”

The Alpenliebe Kindness Movement was the first step in reviving the brand and helping it stand out in a cluttered market. Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

Crowdsourcing

Alpenliebe Kindness Movement

Acts of kindness define people Social standing and wealth are important aspects that define people in China. People without these aspects shared that their actions served to define them, and acts of love and kindness increase their dignity.

side all four seasons. The fragrance of flowers made villagers more joyful than any mail the postman had delivered. And the post man whistled and rode his bicycle filled with happiness and fulfillment.”

Rich collection of stories By the end of the campaign, Alpenliebe had collected a rich database of personal stories, stories that resembled old wives tales, and stories picked up from the internet. One community member shared their reaction on a touching YouTube video:

Source: renren.com

As one member shared: “City needs love. We might not have prominent status or earn less than others, but love makes our life more dignified.”

Stories that inspire & shape the world People shared stories that inspired them believe in positivity and love, as well stories that inspired them to make a difference and shape the world they live in. A wedding dress designer shared her story: “I am a wedding dress designer. In the past few years, many beautiful brides have held my hands gracefully when they saw my designs. They told me that I helped them express the romance they had always dreamt of. But what I want to say is that I appreciate all of them. Because they give me the chance to help them design the most significant dresses in their lives, and also the chance to help them fulfill their dreams. Thank you all for sharing the happiness and sweetness with me, and thank you all for letting me witness love and believe in love.”

Source: YouTube video

“I used to see a video on line: A bleeding cat lay by the wheel. This wounded cat might have stopped breathing, but its partner reluctant to leave. He waited there for over two hours. During that time, he tried to save the wounded companion by all kinds of artificial respiration action, such as mouthto-mouth breath, the chest compression, etc. It seemed that he was waiting for his companion to open his eyes the next second. More people stopped near the cats. Some of them recorded the scene using their phones; others just stood there, witnessed, and felt touched inside…”

Another story inspired people to take action and shape the world with their acts: “There was a postman who rode about 50 kilometers every day, sending joyful or sorrowful stories to thousands of families. The path which he had to take everyday has nothing but dust. "How long will I keep going along such a desolate way?" Until one day he went to a flower shop for a hand of flower seeds, he scattered the flower seeds on the path. Colorful flowers bloomed along the bleak way by the

Source: renren.com

Another shared the story of 6 year old Elena Desserich:

Another, shared a story about the kindness of people from Wenzhou:

“A six year old American girl named Elena Desserich, was suffering from brain cancer. During the last 9 months of her life, she left many notes with paintings and words like I love you and hid them in her father's briefcase and mother's handbag without their notice. Some notes had been sandwiched between books or plugged in the corner of wardrobe and cabinet filled with bowls and planet. Some of them had even been hidden in the corner and gap of relatives & families (sic). They started to sort Elena’s articles after she died, the tears blurred their eyes when they found those notes.”

“Right after the accident of train D3115 happened, a non-profitable community ’ firefly volunteer’ gathered more than forty private cars, volunteering as shuttle bus for families of the injured. Taxi drivers volunteered to join them and offered to transport people for free. Furthermore, any Weibo about wanting more volunteers received many positive responds from Wenzhou citizens. Many citizens queued to donate blood that very night. Kind Wenzhou people proved by actions that they are more of a united and kind group of people than just good at doing business.”

Local stories, local pride A theme of local pride emerged as people shared kindness stories from smaller towns and cities, where local communities had rallied together to make a difference.

Inspiration from animals Several participants in the kindness movement shared inspiring stories of kindness amongst animals. One community member shared the story of dolphins protecting humans:

One community member shared the story of a vegetable farmer in Changchun: “A seventy-nine-year old vegetable farmer from Jiu Tai, Ji Lin, is often seen riding a motor tricycle, carrying his forty-year old son, who is suffering from epilepsy, selling green onions on Changchun street. One traffic officer ran into this during his shift, and determined to help the old man sell green onions. As this moving story spread, more and more citizens followed the example of the traffic officer. Many passers-by left 10 - 20 RMB quietly on the old man’s booth and walked away. The deeply moved vegetable famer said gracefully: ‘Changchun is filled with human touch. It’s the friendliest city!’”

Source: renren.com

“Maybe you have seen the cute dolphins in the zoo, known they are best friends of ours. But that isn’t all. In the field of New Zealand seas, a group of dolphins suddenly surrounded swimmers into a circle. When the circle concrete strong, the dolphins started to arouse spray in the sea. The people in the water found out a group of shark were closing to them after seeing the dolphins' aggressive behavior. The kindness dolphins were protecting human being in their own way at the desperate hours.” People from the greater online community pointed out that humans should learn compassion from these stories. As YouTube user blunter1929 commented on the video of the two cats:

Source: renren.com

“Animals are better than humans real talk” YouTube user Daniel Ecoff commented: “Compassion. Something Humans need to practice more !!!!” Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

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Alpenliebe Kindness Movement

The Kindness Bible

Impact

The most popular of the stories shared were compiled to create Kindness Bibles. 300,000 copies of the book were distributed during Alpenliebe’s seasonal sales promotion around the Chinese New Year.

The emotional connect with kindness, and the campaign’s widespread reach both online and offline translated into a 16% increase in sales revenue. 151,000 kindness stories were shared, and 8.7 million people touched.

Candy and kindness Alpenliebe encouraged people to share their “sweet moments” with Alpenliebe during the movement, and also received stories in which candy was used to spread kindness.

http://www.youtube.com

Trend: crowdsourcing kindness and cheer In our past reports, we have talked about how brands like chocolatier Anthon Berg and Coca Cola are crowdsourcing generosity and happiness, by inspiring consumers to perform random acts of kindness. Alpenliebe’s success with its Kindness Movement in China shows that kindness is an attribute that is in demand globally, and one that can lead to an increase in sales. As Henry Mason, head of research and analytics at independent firm Trendwatching commented:

Source: renren.com

“For consumers long used to (and annoyed by) distant, inflexible and self-serving corporations, any acts of kindness by brands will be gratefully received.”

As one community member shared: “After working overtime till 1am, my head started spinning. But I still had to push the last mile for the proposal tomorrow. So I went to toilet to wash my face, tried to refresh myself a bit. When I got back, I saw a box of candy on my desk! My team mates were still working in front of their computers and no one said anything. Suddenly I felt so warm in my heart. Maybe this was what we called team spirit.”

View this report directly on Slideshare

Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

Crowdsourcing

Alpenliebe Kindness Movement

Storytelling

@MarsCuriosity

What is @MarsCuriosity?

Transmedia storytelling In 2008, the three-person social media team created a Twitter account. They updated from the point of view of Curiosity using a first-person voice and simple English – or, as Mashable put it, the “voice of the Internet.” The first tweet from @MarsCuriosity: “I’m WAY cool, nearly built, and I need a name. A contest for kids to name me: http://is.gd/85rQ (lots of nice vids here, too. Click on *2*)”

Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

@MarsCuriosity is the Twitter account of Curiosity, NASA’s latest robot rover on Mars. The rover burst into the spotlight as the NASA social media team live tweeted its successful landing on Mars in August 2012.

The story grew with daily chronological updates on Twitter, and eventually Facebook, enriched with transmedia — links to NASA/JPL mission reports, photos from the Jet Propulsion Lab where Curiosity was built and tested, and the live stream show Curiosity Cam covering NASA tweet ups and mission briefings.

Curiosity is on a mission to find out if life ever existed on the red planet, and to collect data for a future manned mission to Mars. The rover runs on a combination of nuclear and solar energy, and has been designed to operate for two years. Curiosity launched from Florida, and travelled eight months and 566 million kilometers to reach the red planet. The entire project has cost NASA $2.5 billion. Source: ustream.tv/nasajpl

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@MarsCuriosity

@MarsCuriosity also curated content generated and interviews about her mission to Mars. Some milestones in the life of Curiosity include:

Some, such as Alyssa Rosenberg, of ‘Journalist Think Progressive’, think space exploration is worth the investment:

“This week, I’ve been testing my newly attached arm & practicing hand-eye coordination. New video at http://bit.ly/b1vnnT” (September 2010)

“What the scientists at JPL did last night was a critical part of our future in space not simply because they did something extremely difficult that will advance our understanding of the planet that’s fascinated so many of us so deeply and for so long, but because they helped keep the dream alive at all, reminding of what it’s like to watch the future arrive, and how cheap it is to purchase in comparison to what we spend to maintain conflicts and policies that mire us in the past.”

“I HAVE LIFTOFF!” (November 2011) “My 2012 New Year’s Resolution? Get to Mars in 215 days.” (January 2012) Curiosity is not the only Mars rover to tweet. Its elder siblings, Spirit and Opportunity, which landed on Mars in 2004 are active on Twitter too – @MarsRovers. Both rovers were designed to last only 90 days, but lasted much longer. Both practically rewrote the book on Mars. Space explorer enthusiasts are hopeful that Curiosity too will unearth new twists in the Mars story. As Dr Charles Elachi, Director, NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, said: “Tomorrow we’re going to start exploring Mars. And next week and next month and next year, we’ll be bringing new discoveries every day, every week, to all of you.”

Importance for NASA The Mars landing has revived the controversial topic of NASA’s steep budget, which has been on a steady decline since the mid-1960s and has just faced a budget cut of $200 in the Mars exploration program by the Obama administration. The proposal has in effect shut down missions to Mars beyond 2014.

But others, such as Roger Hendrix, commented that the money could have been better spent: “I am PRO SPACE PROGRAM, BUT doing the same things over and over are a waste of time and $$$$. There are SO MUCH more we could be doing to aim us in a direction to save ourselves and we are fumbling with Mars rocks” It was thus important for NASA to communicate the success of its mission, and the benefits of advancing space technologies. Storytelling is a crucial tool in NASA’s mission to create an emotional bond with the American public, and it’s a tool that NASA wields boldly.

Telling the story from outer space Curiosity can communicate directly to Earth using a space transponder, but at very low bandwidths and at a time lag of around 14 minutes. She can broadcast higher bandwidths to NASA’s two Mars Orbiters, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Odyssey, when they are in range. She has been outfitted with 17 cameras to collect data from her surroundings on Mars; the first images have already been tweeted by @ MarsCuriosity.

Storytelling to simplify science To ensure that the project designed by rocket scientists would be accessible to the layman, NASA tailored content to suit different groups.

Source: vator.tv

The NASA/JPL website serves as the central repository of content. It includes a kids; section, information about technologies used, as well as interactive content and videos that simplify the science. 63

Coverage of the landing On the night of August 5, 2012, Americans gathered to view a special broadcast from

Source: jpl.nasa.gov

Most famous of these is the video ‘7 minutes of Terror,’ in which NASA scientists explain the challenges of landing the 1-ton Curiosity, the heaviest payload ever delivered to the Mars surface. Set to dramatic music, and filled with interviews, beautiful graphics, animations and text, the video has been broadcast on TV and shared across the internet.

Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

In addition to simplifying the science through stories, NASA also took steps to involve people with the project on a personal level. In 2009, NASA tied up with Disney Pixar’s Wall-E to launch a contest for US school children: Name NASA’s next Mars Rover. Ten finalists were selected and the winner was decided in a round of public voting in 2009. 65,559 people voted, and the winner was 6th grader Clara Ma’s ‘Curiosity.’ An excerpt from 6th grader Clara Ma’s entry: “Curiosity is the passion that drives us through our everyday lives. We have become explorers and scientists with our need to ask questions and to wonder. Sure, there are many risks and dangers, but despite that, we still continue to wonder and dream and create and hope. We have discovered so much about the world, but still so little. We will never know everything there is to know, but with our burning curiosity, we have learned so much.” NASA also invited people to ‘send their name to Mars,’ and appealed to ‘Tweeters and Trekkies’ by roping in William Shatner and Wil Wheaton of Star Trek fame. Shatner and Wheaton each narrated the video ‘Grand Entrance’ created to spread awareness about the landing. (source WSFA.com)

NASA Mission Control in science centers, museums and Times Square. Tension was high as NASA’s eight years of hard work and $2.5 billion of US taxpayer money was put to test in the crucial seven minutes. Adam Steltzner, the entry descent and landing lead, shared his feelings before the landing: “When I look back at the hard work that we’ve done, we’ve done everything that we can to deserve success tonight, although as we all know, we cannot guarantee success… We’re rationally confident, emotionally terrified, and ready for EDL.” The TV broadcast shows the NASA team breaking into celebration when a successful landing was confirmed. @MarsCuriosity tweeted confirmation as well: “I’m safely on the surface of Mars. GALE CRATER I AM IN YOU!!! #MSL”

Amplification of the story The Mars landing was covered by global media, trended on Twitter with multiple hashtags and inspired new memes. @MarsCuriosity added half a million followers within the first 24 hours; its first tweet from Mars was retweeted nearly 72,000 times.

Source: twitter.com/marscuriosity

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Flight Director Bobak Ferdowsi, who sported a special mohawk in honor of the occasion, became an instant crowd favourite, shooting from 200 followers to 36,000, with memes sprouting across the web, and his own fan club. He even received a wedding proposal from @amaeryllis: “@tweetsoutloud I know you’ve been busy, but will you marry me? land something on mars if the answer is yes.” Several Twitter users called for an Olympic medal for Curiosity. Ivan Brandon tweeted: “What’s the name of the Olympics category where you land a robot on another planet?” Brands joined in on the excitement as well, with Oreos posting a red Oreo on its Facebook page, in salute to the Mars landing. The hype grew so much that Google had to revise its Google Doodle of the day to include the rover, to appease the vocal Twitter community.

Emotional impact The successful landing marked a milestone in US space exploration, with people, celebrities and politicians congratulating NASA on its achievement. More importantly, the event helped revive the country’s passion for space exploration and dreams of landing a man on Mars – an event President Barack Obama aims to see happen by 2030. Obama released a statement of congratulations: “The successful landing of Curiosity – the most sophisticated roving laboratory ever to land on another planet – marks an unprecedented feat of technology that will stand as a point of national pride far into the future.” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden took the opportunity to re-establish NASA’s success as a matter of national pride: “It’s a huge day for the nation, it’s a huge day for all of our partners and it’s a huge day for the American people. Everybody in the morning should be sticking their chests out, saying ‘that’s my rover on Mars.’ Because it belongs to all of us.”

View this report directly on Slideshare 65

Free Pussy Riot

What is Free Pussy Riot? Free Pussy Riot is a social media led movement by supporters of Pussy Riot – a Russian feminist punk-rock band and antiPutin activist group – to protest the detention of three band members and to attract international intervention.

of peaceful performances in highly visible places, the group has given voice to basic rights under threat in Russia today, while expressing the values and principles of gender equality, democracy and freedom of expression contained in the Russian constitution and other international instruments.” Pussy Riot got together to rejuvenate the culture of protest in Russia and bring about social change. One of the band members, who goes by the pseudonym Kot, explained their tactics on the Pussy Riot Facebook page: “We wanted to create a new form of protest – maybe not such a huge one, but we compensate for that with the bright, provocative and illegal nature of our performances.” The group has 15 members, and is characterized by the bright neon colored ski masks they wear during performances.

Reason behind the arrest Supporters at the Russian Consulate in New York City (source: FreePussyRiot.org)

Launched in March 2012, the movement gathered momentum in the weeks leading to the court trial and has led to widespread international coverage, discussion and controversy.

The released a statement that announced:

Pussy Riot – protest group The Free Pussy Riot website described the group as: “An anonymous Russian feminist performance art group formed in October 2011. Through a series Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

Storytelling

Five members of the group staged an illegal performance at Moscow’s Cathedral of Church the Savior as a protest against the Russian Orthodox Church’s support for Putin.

“Our performance in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was a political gesture, which concerns the problem of merging of Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and the Putin government. Patriarch Kirill

Free Pussy Riot

has repeatedly spoken about of clearly not the holy figure of Putin and urged his parishioners not to participate in protest rallies… Therefore, we have introduced a new element in our performance – a prayer – and called our performance punk public prayer “Virgin Mary, Drive Putin Away.” The performance was documented in a short video, under two minutes, which showed five masked women playing punk music at the altar, dancing and singing the ‘punk prayer.’

A purpose inspired movement United with a shared purpose to denounce the violation of the women’s right to protest and a fair trial, supporters came together and created the Free Pussy Riot movement. The movement called for the freedom of the women, and had three objectives: to collect donation to fund women’s legal defense, petition authorities to free the women, and create awareness of the unfair trial. The website FreePussyRiot.org was set up as the central platform for the movement.

Source: youtube.com

Supporters could make donations online via PayPal, FundRazr and wire transfers, or in cash by contacting one of the Pussy Riot lawyers in Moscow. Online donations exceeded the $30,000 the group asked for, with additional donations coming in from efforts including a benefit concert at a bar in London, and sale of t-shirts online.

Following the release of the video, the Russian Orthodox Church charged three members, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina and Ekaterina Samucevich, with ‘hooliganism motivated by religious hatred,’ a charge that carries up to 7 years imprisonment. This led to outrage amongst human rights activists who called the punishment “excessive” and “personal revenge” of Putin. Vladimir Lukin, Human Rights Commissioner of Russia, expressed his misgivings:

Source: Amnesty USA

“[Their act] is a misdemeanor that in a normal, civilized European state is handled in administrative rather than criminal proceedings. That’s why I think the ruling on those women is excessive.”

Petitions were set up by various individuals and organizations. Amnesty International directed their message to Russian persecutors, and a group of German activists targeted the Russian ambassador to Germany.

Hugh Williamson, a director at the Human Rights Watch, was more direct:

The Free Pussy Riot movement also brought attention to the torture and death of Russian anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky. 486,000 people signed a petition asking the EU to impose a travel ban and freeze assets of the people responsible for his death.

“The charges and verdict against the Pussy Riot band members distort both the facts and the law… These women should never have been charged with a hate crime and should be released immediately.” Activists and Pussy Riot supporters were also enraged that the women were denied bail for the five months leading to the trial, and that the Russian Orthodox Church had launched a public smear campaign targeting the women.

The movement to create awareness caught on, with supporters discussing the trial online an organizing rallies and concerts in over 60 cities across Europe, North America and Australia.

Niche communities amplified reach A survey found that only 6% of Russians sympathized with Pussy Riot, and that 41% were averse to the cause. The majority of support came from Europe and North America, especially from anti-Putin groups, human rights activists, feminists and musicians. Ukrainian feminist protest group FEMEN, resonated with the anti-Putin protest and condemned the charges filed against the Pussy Riot members: “It is apparent that the criminal case initiated following your performance in the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow, is only a pretext for the Kremlin to punish the band-members for their previous performance in the Red Square, while covering it up with the offense of religious feelings.” Tom Watson, a journalist at Forbes, pointed out that the movement went viral due to efforts of niche communities including feminists and human rights activists:

Source: twitter.com/PaulMcCartney

Paul McCartney’s tweet itself was broadcast to nearly a million followers, and was re-tweeted 1,991 times.

Transmedia storytelling fuelled the movement Free Pussy Riot supporters made use of transmedia including videos, web games, photos from protests, tweets and even the women’s closing speeches at court to fuel the movement. These forms of content pushed out stories from supporters across the world, and were designed to evoke emotions and build hype.

“Let’s not forget that two of the band members are young mothers who would be separated from their children by the Putin government… Like the Occupy movement, it involved a small group that magnified its attention through other nodes: Amnesty International, feminist bloggers, the foreign policy press, and a vast mob of supporters on Twitter and Facebook.” Musician Frank London called the charges filed against the women a “crime against artists.” Musicians across Europe and North America condemned the treatment of the Pussy Riot members, and offered their support. The involvement of high-profile musicians especially helped spread awareness and recruit supporters for the Free Pussy Riot movement. Madonna voiced her support at a concert in Moscow, and Paul McCartney tweeted a message of support:

Source: vimeo.com

Pussy Riot themselves followed these storytelling tactics. The arrested women used the coverage of the court trial to their advantage, posing defiantly for photos and sharing letters from prison. The women even used their closing speeches as a forum to discuss art, philosophy and the hardships they faced since their arrest.

“… Many people in the civilized world are allowed to voice their opinions and as long as they do not hurt anyone in doing so I believe this is the best way forward for all societies. I hope you can stay strong and believe that I and many others like me who believe in free speech will do everything in our powered to support you and the idea of artistic freedom.” Source: Avaaz.org

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Free Pussy Riot

A few hours after the three women were sentenced to three years imprisonment, the remaining group members released a new single, “Putin Lights a Fire.” The song was picked up by The Guardian and transformed into a video montage, using multimedia from the trial and fan protests. This in turn was published in sites including the Huffington Post, thereby reaching a larger audience. The group also succeeded in maintaining media coverage after the sentencing, with a tweet about the other two members who participated in the “Punk Prayer” performance:

Source: FreePussyRiot.org

Criticism and controversy Not all people supported the arrested women. Videos on YouTube have as many dislikes as likes, and people voiced their misgivings about the “Punk Prayer” performance in comments. *Translation courtesy Google Translate (Source: twitter.com/pussy_riot )

Role of social media Social media ensured news about the movement spread in real-time, and contributed to the speed at which the movement grew. Supporters leveraged this by posting constant stream of updates, including live tweets from the court house, to their community of 103,000 Facebook fans and 16,000 Twitter followers. Inspired by the courage and resilience the women showed throughout the trial, people shared their opinions on Twitter. Swedish philosopher Alexander Bard expressed his political stance: “Russian Foreign Ministry sobs worldwide support for #PussyRiot is politically motivated. Yes, OF COURSE IT IS, morons! WE WANT PUTIN OUT!” Twitter user Russian_market tweeted about the unfairness of the trial:

Many agreed with the charges of religious hatred and felt that the women deserved to be punished, though they had different opinions on the severity of the punishment. As YouTube user armija commented: “This church is place of worship, and also it is national monument. They made vandalism on that place with intent to provoke and insult others. As a religious guy (not orthodox Christian though) I think that their punishment should be even bigger…” Several people also questioned the international outrage, stating that the same act would be punished similarly even outside of Russia. As Italian journalist Enza Ferreri stated: “They have simply violated the law. Any civilized country has the law that protects feelings of religious people being offended.” Indeed, a copycat stunt in Germany has led to the German Catholic Church charging protestors with disturbing a religious service, punishable by three years imprisonment.

“John Lennon’s murder got 32 years. #PussyRiot got 2.5 years for 40 sec. Brejvik got 21 years (with min. 10 years) for slaughtering 77 kids.” Russian social network VK and Facebook also played a role, enabling supporters to organize and promote events taking place in 74 cities to commemorate August 17, the day the sentence was pronounced – as the “Global Day of Solidarity for Pussy Riot.”

Title of blogger Andre Anglin’s post (Source: outlawjournalism.com)

Some bloggers even criticized western media and accused them of supporting the movement simply to use any opportunity to attack Putin. Blogger Andre Anglin commented: This is a situation where the entire media establishment, both on the “right” and the “left”, as well as many celebrity activists, are unifying to distort what has taken place to an extreme degree. The scale of this is simply massive, and unlike anything I am aware of having happened before, ever.

Impact of the movement While unsuccessful in freeing the women, the Free Pussy Riot movement did bring attention to the relationship between the Russian Orthodox Church and Putin, and issues surrounding human rights. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, one of the arrested Pussy Riot members, stated that despite the way events unfolded Pussy Riot had succeeded in its original goal: “Whatever the verdict for Pussy Riot, we and you have already won. Because we have learned to be angry and speak politically.”

View this report directly on Slideshare

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Free Pussy Riot

Nike Find Your Greatness What is Nike Find Your Greatness? Famous for its ambush marketing campaigns and for mastering the art of storytelling, Nike neatly side stepped the restrictions set by the London Organizing Committee and delivered a striking campaign for the London 2012 Olympics. The Nike Find Your Greatness campaign shares stories of everyday athletes from various Londons around the world, challenging the notion that greatness is reserved for elite athletes, and inspiring everyday people to find theirs.

Source: gramfeed.com/nike

A new story every day Nike featured a new story every day, covering 19 different sports, including gymnastics, basketball, BMX and Wushu. The minimalist ads featured normal people and delivered hard hitting messages. One story shows a group of burkah-clad girls huddled together. The camera zooms out to reveal they are members of a girl’s soccer team at London School in Qatar, and the voiceover delivers a direct message: “If you think greatness is supposed to look a certain way, play a certain way and act a certain way, we certainly need to re-think some things.”

Source: youtube.com

The campaign builds on f Nike tagline and cofounder Bill Bowerman’s philosophy: “If you have a body, you are an athlete.” 71

Jogger – the story that went viral The story of Nathan Sorrell, a 200lb 12 year old from London, Ohio, went viral in America, dominating online discussions and gaining nearly 1 million views on YouTube.

his life/health with a jog. And after watching it a few times, I’m pretty sure I just love this ad. I love Nathan. I hope he runs until he feels awesome about himself. I hope he inspires other kids to run.” Twitter user Elisha tweeted: “Just jogged till I couldn't anymore. #nike #findyourgreatness jogger commercial inspired me.” Third, Americans were moved by the story. Local Ohio news site Record Herald interviewed Nathan about his experience shooting the commercial, and learned that Nathan and his mother had decided to help each other lose weight and become healthier. Nike had encouraged this decision, suggesting a follow up commercial if they were successful.

Source: youtube.com

The 1-minute video shows the overweight boy jogging up an empty road, growing bigger in size as he gets closer to the camera. The voiceover says: “Somehow we’ve come to believe that greatness is a gift for a chosen few. The prodigies. The superstars… Greatness is not some rare DNA strand… Greatness is no more unique to us than breathing. We’re all capable of it. All of us.”

This story was picked up by several other domestic and international publishers, and people reacted favorably, sending well wishes to Nathan. However, the ad also received a small share of criticism. Several people were uncomfortable about Nike’s use of an overweight child in the commercial. Some, like retired chemistry teacher Cindy accused Nike of exploiting the child:

Jogger struck a deep emotional chord with Americans, for several reasons. First, Americans could relate to the story. According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity affects approximately 35.7% of American adults and 17% of American children. By using a real person, and referring to an issue that plagues millions of Americans, Nike gave people a story that was very similar to their own. YouTube user sher82278 shared her story: “You remind me of my son weighing in close to the same range at age 13 or 14. The smartest thing I did for him was to let him play youth football at age 12. It not only showed him how good he felt from the program it gave him the Confidence he needed to succeed at something greater than himself.”

“@postsecret That Nike ad is repulsive..A 12 year old shoukd not be obese & we should not be exploiting it.” Others felt that Nike was over-simplifying the nation’s severe obesity issue. In an article titled “Nike Uses Fat Kid to Sell Shoes, Nation Rejoices,” Jezebel blogger Lindy West pointed out the broader picture: “If American kids are gaining weight, it’s not because they’re just naturally lazy and they naturally don’t want to work out. There are systemic problems in our country-with processed food, poverty, shitty school lunches, corn subsidies … that are ours to fix, not that kid’s.”

Second, Americans were inspired by the story. If an overweight boy in Ohio could become active and find his greatness, so could they. Hannah Brook Olsen, blogger at Bliss Tree wrote about the effect the commercial had on her: “My initial feeling was that I was really inspired by the use of a real person who was trying to improve Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

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Nike Find Your Greatness

Inspiring people to share their stories A domestic sponsor of Team USA, Nike didn’t alienate achievements by US elite athletes in its social media updates. On the contrary, Nike highlighted their achievements in social media updates, and tied up with retired and injured Olympics to inspire others to find their greatness. (Thus sidestepping a restriction barring Olympic athletes from mentioning brands in their social media updates.)

Already inspired to work out after watching athletes on the Olympics, and the Find Your Greatness spots, people took up Nike’s challenge to earn NikeFuel and share photos of their FuelBand and activity graphs on Facebook and Twitter.

Sources: twitter.com/801PUNX twitter.com/nike and gramfeed.com/nike

Nike catalyzed this movement with a goal to make August 12 the ‘most active day in the history of Nike+’. The benchmark had been set at 361 million NikeFuel points on August 6, and the Nike+ community was successful in setting a new record – 596 million NikeFuel points. Source: facebook.com/nike

Gymnast Shawn Johnson and marathoner Paula Radcliffe promoted #FindGreatness on Twitter and encouraged followers to share their stories. People sent in stories via Twitter and images via Instagram, and Nike featured the best stories on its digital hub – gameonworld.nike.com Source: gameonworld.nike.com

In the words of CMSWire blogger Deb Lavoy, Nike Find Your Greatness is an example of: “how corporate purpose can be both very, very profitable, while also creating value and prosperity for its customers.” Mike Schmidt and Ryan Bailey share their greatness (Sources: gramfeed.com and gameonworld.nike.com)

Integration with Nike’s digital products

By merging corporate purpose (inspiring athletes) and narrative (find your greatness), Nike was successful in exciting people about the brand and motivating people to use the products.

A sub-campaign, #FuelCheck, promoted Nike products more directly, while also engaging the Nike+ online community. People were encouraged to set and measure goals using their Nike+ FuelBand, earn NikeFuel points by working out, and share their achievements.

One of the top buzz gainers at the Olympics An instant hit at launch, the Nike Find Your Greatness campaign topped the AdAge viral video chart for the week ending July 31, 2012, displacing official Olympics sponsor and long time rival Adidas. Nike Page Data, July 16 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; August 13 (source: AppData.com)

AdAge partner Bluefin Labs tracked social media response to ads, and included Nike in the list of Top 10 Buzz Gainers during the first 10 days of the games. Find Your Greatness was covered extensively in mainstream media, blogs and social media. On Facebook, mentions of Nike shot from 135,000/ day to a peak of 430,597 mentions/day for three days straight.

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Nike Find Your Greatness

SuperBetter

What is SuperBetter?

Gamification of health

SuperBetter is a super-hero themed online game that helps people improve their resilience, meet their health goals, recover from illness or injury, and have fun along the way.

By packaging everyday occurrences into elements of a super-hero story, SuperBetter offers people a new perspective from which to tackle their challenge. Friends are Allies, health goals are Quests and Epic Wins depending on size, and obstacles are Bad Guys who need ass kicking. Power Ups help increase strength, and Future Boosts keep you motivated.

Source: facebook.com/superbetter

Jane McGonigal, a renowned game designer, came up with the concept while battling a concussion. She had been researching recovery strategies, and was struck by how similar they were to playing multi-player games: “You have clear goals; you track your progress; you tackle increasingly difficult challenges, but only when you’re ready for them; and you’re connecting with people you like. The only thing missing from these recover strategies, really, was the meaning – the exciting story, the heroic purpose, the sense of being a part of something bigger.” This realization led to the conception of SuperBetter, her recovery, and the super-hero story Jane created for players.

Source: superbetter.com

The parallels to video games are obvious, and these help people get excited about meeting their goals. As iPhone app user Shookiez commented: “Although I don’t always actually use the app, the very idea has changed the way I approach work – as a challenge to defeat and earn my reward (pride).”

The gaming lingo also makes being healthy, and talking about health, a cool thing to do. As Nikki Botsford Mestas commented on Facebook: “Getting superbetter today. Tackling the bad guys.”

Backed up with science To combat the common perception of adult gaming as a ‘waste of time,’ Jane McGonigal emphasized the amount of scientific research that went into the design of the game and her collaboration with scientists, doctors and researchers in her Ted Talk, on the SuperBetter Blog and within the game itself. This helped SuperBetter reach people who ordinarily wouldn’t have accepted the idea of gaming for health. As Kathy Hartzell commented on Facebook: “Listened to Jane on NPR Sunday partly because of the promo….no way said I to myself on the way to Berkeley that morning….games for healing or social connections?? Well, I listened…I read more and I am going to take the journey as a 63rd birthday present. My first foray into on line games, unless Angry Birds counts!!”

42 year old Eric from Colorado uses SuperBetter to manage his weight and gain confidence: “My challenge is that I have gained a bunch of weight and gotten out of shape, partly as a result of a number of major life stressors happening all at once. … Plus, when I’m ready to go back into the dating world, I think it will help me if I feel stronger, more confident and happier with my appearance.” 29-year-old Lucy from Aberdeen uses SuperBetter to combat sleep issues: “My challenge is to feel better about my sleep – and that could be having happy dreams and waking up feeling refreshed, or it could just be accepting bad dreams and that my not feeling refreshed is simply how I am, or that there is something else I need to change.” The game also appeals to people who with nonhealth goals, such as combating procrastination, planning finances and preparing for parenthood. Author Cheryl Reif applied the concept of Power Ups to overcome writer’s block, with a list of fun Writing Power Ups that include taking a reading break and picking up a fancy pen.

Power of perception Players were prompted to choose a Secret Identity, a persona based on their personal heroes. This helped them set goals they previously considered impossible and to persevere – as they wanted to stay true to their inspiration.

The SuperBetter HQ in the iPhone app shows the science behind each element. A science card also pops up upon completion of Quests. (Source: appstorm.net)

Upon completion of a Quest, people earned resilience points in one of four categories – mental, emotional, physical and social – and could see how the quest helped them get SuperBetter.

Source: forums.SuperBetter.com

Player Courtney Sloan wrote about her experience adopting the hero mindset:

Universal appeal The game is universal in its reach, appealing to people of different ages in different places with different goals.

Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

Storytelling

“My willpower skyrocketed. You know why? My game persona would have done those things. The gaming aspect allowed me to step away from myself and do things not because I wanted to, but because my hero self would not take no for an answer. She had the willpower, so would I.”

SuperBetter

Player Lady Pele even set personas for her Bad Guys to motivate herself: “I’m currently working on losing weight and getting fit, so one of my Bad Guys is “Bo, the Gluttony Demon.” Coming up with the names/descriptions is really fun, and then I have something physical to imagine when doing battle; I can actually visualize myself kicking a demon in the face”

Stigma against asking for help

As Alex Goldman commented: “I suppose this is a bit of a no-brainer, but I was shocked at how motivating it was to have other people designing quests for me. The quests I created for myself seemed so pedestrian by comparison.” However, the game has received some criticism for not doing enough to keep Allies engaged and active. Player Jamie commented on this:

According to medical journals, support of family and friends is essential to recovery. However people are generally against asking for help, as is evident in the SuperBetter forums. By making allies a key part of the game, people were encouraged to overcome their stigma and reach out for support.

“Besides my partner, none of my allies has checked back to the site, assigned quests, or the like. I had wondered if the game would periodically email allies (if I completed their quests, to prompt that we were overdue for a check-in, whatever), but it doesn’t.”

As radio show producer Alex Goldman explained:

SuperBetter helped several people achieve epic wins such as writing novels, learning languages, and overcoming shyness.

“I hate asking for help… It was actually a lot easier for me to recruit listeners to help me play Superbetter than it was for me to play with people who I see every day, because it felt less like asking for help. That’s kind of a fascinating feature of the internet age, that I can find a dozen people out in Cyberspace who are willing to be my internet booster club.“ Player Snellopy shared the benefits of gaining a social support system: “It’s great, especially since we’re scrawling all over each other’s activity streams with questions and comments. So no matter whose page I’m looking at, I see the same names popping up, being encouraging and getting encouraged.“

Importance of allies Allies keep players engaged and motivated by suggesting quests and doling out achievements.

Achieving epic wins

Player Amanda shared how the game helped her overcome her obsession with weight loss: “This morning, as I checked off quests and powerups in SuperBetter, I realized that fitness and health have truly become my goal. It is no longer about my weight… My [SuperBetter] HQ now reads, that I am getting SuperBetter at ‘Getting Fit’ in order to ‘Feel SuperHealthy.’ And I mean it.” Tim Maliyil shared how SuperBetter helped his mother recover from a stroke: “She is someone who has never used a computer before, but she was able to engage with [SuperBetter] on the iPad in a matter of minutes. Now she uses the iPad and [SuperBetter] every day. Her doctors and therapists expect a full recovery within a few months, and your products keeping her mind engaged partly contributed to her recovery success thus far.”

Trend: shift to mobile That players have actively been campaigning for mobile apps shows their preference for mobile. As SuperBetter player Apollo Lemmon commented: Source: forums.SuperBetter.com

“I’m moving to using only a phone as my computer throughout the day, and having an app for Android would make this site one I can easily use.“

Not only would a mobile app help them play more frequently, it would also help them play more effectively –several players had set goals to reduce computer use and to increase activity levels. As player William commented: “Sometimes, it doesn’t work for me to sit down in front of a computer to use SuperBetter (as one of the things I’m struggling with is RSI, on my bad days when I really need a power-up or two it’s not always good for me to do).“ Note: While the iPhone app launched in April 2012, an Android app is still in the making.

Source: appstorm.net

With over 100,000 players, a core community 4,500 members on the SuperBetter community, and with more success stories being shared, SuperBetter definitely has potential to play a wider role in healthcare. As acupuncture student Jason Lay envisioned:

Future of SuperBetter SuperBetter is one among several games and applications that aim to address healthcare issues through play. Competitors include starts ups like Fitocracy, and major brands such as GE, which has a suite of social apps to help people live healthy.

“I see healthcare professionals of different strokes being very interested in SuperBetter. The potential for hands-off delivery and training of healthpromoting habits and attitudes is tremendous using this gaming model.”

View this report directly on Slideshare

Volume 1, Issue 3, July-September 2012

Storytelling

SuperBetter

Check out Issues 1 and 2 of the People's Insights Quarterly Magazine here

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